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by Nuno Luz

For the past 3 years this had been my local go-to XC racing series, when I lived in Kent.

The BFCC has been putting on an ever growing and well organised race series aimed at grassroots, which also features a very competitive open race that goes all the way to Masters.

The race itself happens in what the organisation calls a “fun sub 4Km XCC course through the woodland, based mainly on non-technical single-track and ‘natural’ trails, with shorter loops for the U8, U10 and U12 races”.

Any off road bikes are welcome, from MTB, gravel bikes, to cyclocross, with the only exception being e-bikes.

The race entry prices were very reasonable, with U8, 10 & 12s having a great time for just £2, and for the adults £20 per race.

The U8s, U10s & U12s races would happen from 11 onwards and my race (Senior & Masters) starting at 11:50h.

This gives everyone plenty of time to get to the venue, park up, register and do a recce lap.

This year I only got to do the last 2 races of the series, but as usual it was quite fun and I did see an improvement in my overall fitness from one race to the other, which I’m quite happy about.

The first race (actually Round 3) happened in July, with a “mild” 24 celsius in a slightly different section of the course, since there was work being done by Forestry England on parts of the old course.

This made way to a very long fire road descent, where you could get some very good speed, leading to a really nice single track course that had a punchy climb and right at the end some very tight and twisty turns, with loads of bumps that gave me some bad “arm pump” for the first race.

There was also some dust involved if you were behind other riders, but with time and with riders breaking down into smaller groups it settled a bit. When waiting at the start line waiting for the marshal to blow the start whistle, one of the things I’ve noticed from previous years was less people using trail bikes or baggy clothes. I got used to seeing after Covid new riders to the sport participating, and then realising how tough XC racing is 🙂

The winner was ticking around 8m on average per lap, whilst my best lap was 9:57m and around 10:20m on average per lap. So a lot of work had to be done to improve. But I still had loads of fun and enjoyed this very fast track.

For the second race (Round 4), I had prepared a bit better and can say I felt stronger. Numbers were also stronger and we had a total of 33 riders showing up to join in the fun.

Usually I would’ve expected to have done the same circuit, but in reverse, as this is their usual MO, but this time they left the course very similar and running in the same direction. So it was easy to understand what to expect and how to manage my energy. If anything, the course was a bit longer.

The day was milder with only 22 degrees, so all in all conditions were perfect for a great racing morning.

A very busy and competitive start meant I pushed back on the start, since I know I’m not a front or even mid of the pack rider. It was good as my first lap was well managed and then I started to attack on the following laps.

This time around I am happy to report that I was able to get 26th, out of the 32 riders that finished, and I’m also happy with the stronger end to the season.

Also great to see Will Mathews there, racing with Army colours and finishing in a strong 10th position!

Also very positive was the presence of two photographers and videographers on site to take some great snaps of the riders, and there’s even two great videos for each round to watch:

Round 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHH9_NjfoL0

Round 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7hHk8P4nOc

The Club will announce the new season calendar in December, so if you’re interested in racing this series, which I totally recommend, keep an eye out on their FB page or their official website: https://www.boarsonbikes.co.uk/

by Nuno Luz

It was on a very warm and sunny day, now apparently the norm for the UK racing season, that the fourth and last round of the SouthernXC series took place in Clanfield, a large village near the South Downs National Park.

This last round was less of a single track and more of short track, fast paced, with short laps around a small circuit carved on the side of a hill with a brilliant view.

When getting there, parking was plenty and the venue was busy, with riders getting ready to practise. I was able to get a warm up lap and check out the lines and some of the course highlights: a long and very technical rock garden; several twisty and steep switchbacks; three subsequent rock obstacles on steep climbs; a fast downhill with steps – lots of them; and the cherry on the top of the cake, a long ramp to a jump. Yours truly stayed clear of the latter for good reason – you could not roll it and you would need good power in your legs to clear it, which I did not possess …

Nevertheless there were B and even C lines for the two toughest features, the rock garden and the ramp jump. For the rock garden you could go over a steep but rollable man made wooden ramp, that was the B line. Or opt for the safest but longest way around the rock garden via a twisty single track. I preferred the B line as it was quite doable and from what I could see just as fast, if not faster than the rock garden, without the risk.

The ramp jump also had a B line – a bit trickier, since it involved a last minute turn to the right onto another steep man made ramp, coupled with a steep but very rollable descent. I preferred this one for the first and second lap, though unfortunately as the legs grew tired I stalled on the climb and that made me acutely aware that I should go via the C line.

After getting a good understanding of the course, as I was getting ready I realised I had forgotten my hydration bottle, not what you want on such a hot day. Luckily I had my precious “assistant” (fiancée) with me that day for the photos, and she was able to source one for free, from the great people of Veloline. Kudos to them for helping a fellow rider in need!

Each lap was around 1.6km, just over a mile, and most of the course was exposed to the sun, with only a small portion of the switchbacks shaded. Hydration was essential as well as managing the heat, since there was an elevation gain of almost 400m to be negotiated and the side of the above-pictured hill, making most descents recovery time.

This time I took part in the Open race instead of doing my usual Open Novice, and this would go around the track for 8 laps, instead of 6 for the latter category.

A total of 31 riders showed up at the start line which was right at the bottom of the hill, with a straight and steady climb then setting you up for a twisty descent. On the side of the hill there was a feed/tech and spectator zone, with the race HQ right behind.

As the race progressed, the pace was higher than the Open Novice which I had done the previous year, and I had a hard time keeping up, but was determined to finish.

Unfortunately I observed two crashes on the rock gardens, one of them quite hard, which reinforced my decision to stay clear from it and keep to the B line.

At some point, there was a rider crashing the A line ramp jump and he was being assisted by medics, which made the Marshals close the A and B lines.

The race continued for me without any issues, slow and steady! Reaching the end, unfortunately with one less lap than the rest of the riders, but happy, I had finished.

My laps were on average 10 minutes long, with my fastest at 9:49, which probably tells me I should go back to Open Novice!

Still, I had an amazing morning, and was able to meet some familiar faces, before heading back home.

Looking forward to next year’s edition, hopefully a longer series with a few more rounds as the 4 rounds felt like they went by too quickly!

by Nuno Luz

Before moving to Surrey and joining the FCCC last December, I used to join the rides of a local Kent club called Medway Cycle Club, or MCC for short.

Over the 2 years I rode with them, I was lucky enough to get to know some amazing people and share with them some of the finest trails and landscapes that Kent has to offer (oh and pubs and coffee shops too 😀).

From rides to Bregdar (which left me with two broken hands in one ride – yes, really), to Bluebell Hill, Ranscombe, Farningham, Aylesford and others, I was able to join this witty and spiritful group of riders, from all ages and backgrounds, on some of the best riding moments in my MTB riding career.

After joining them on a ride here in Surrey, since they have a few “away” rides throughout the month, the thought popped in my head to try and convince Donna (FCCC) and Adam (MCC) to plan a joint group ride, where Donna could show the MCC gang some of the nice tracks we have around here from a local’s perspective.

After a bit of back and forth with Donna and Adam on WhatsApp, a date was put down and a route agreed.

Donna was going to lead this 45km ride, which started off from Guildford train station and then headed up the North Downs Way, cutting down to Peaslake. The route would then go up Pitch Hill and down the MTB trails back to Peaslake and then back across the heathlands.

Just before 9:30h in the morning, I joined Donna and Robin from the FCCC side. Just a few minutes later the MCC gang joined us, bringing the number of riders up to 11!

With 4 riders on “acoustic” bikes and the remaining 7 on e-bikes, this would prove an interesting 45km especially for those on non-assisted rides. But – spoiler alert! – we all got to the end, as no one gets left behind!

The morning started cool, but the low twenties soon started to turn into the mid-twenties and reached a scorching 30 degrees!

After initial intros, Donna officially started the ride by leading us through Bridge Street, and then following Millbrook Road, past Shalford Park, then into our first climb, with a scenic stop at the top of St.Martha’s Hill.

Once we conquered our first climb, it was time to take in the beautiful view just behind the church and take some photos. We even had time to see to a technical issue, where someone’s seat post was misbehaving.

As we enjoyed the scenic view, we also noticed that the ground had in fact turned into the fine sand that you can see in the photos. And so it was most of the way down, making it challenging but fun at times to ride on what reminded me of a beach ride, only a bit far from the coolness of the sea …

The next stop would be a few miles later at Peaslake, after some challenging climbs and a steep downhill. That almost claimed our ride leader Donna, courtesy of a massive rut with an inconspicuous boulder, laid there to trap Donna’s front wheel and project her over the bars.

Having witnessed the ordeal first hand, given that I was riding just behind Donna, and nearly hitting the same obstacle myself, I feared the worst. But luckily Donna made a great recovery, and she showed everyone the quality of rider and leader she is by staying strong and continuing until the very end of the ride, even though battered and bruised! [Donna’s note – bruises are almost healed now!]

After a few minutes, we were all back on track and heading to Peaslake. Once we got there, we went up Pitch Hill where some more photos were taken, including a nice group photo taken by an innocent bystander. It was a much needed hydration break and allowed some to have more intimate moments with their steeds 😀

Trails at Peaslake were dry but quite nice to ride – being a Sunday it was busy but we didn’t meet many riders when coming down the trails.

The highlight was definitely the trail of “St. John the Baptist” which was, in my opinion, the fastest and most fun track of the day, with a few small jumps and nice berms leading down to the car park.

Once at the car park, before leaving Peaslake, we had a nice stop for coffee, a good chat and some cake.

On the way back, Donna took us through Farley Green and then past Shalford, coming back to Guildford where we stopped at the lovely pub Britannia for a celebratory drink under the scalding sun.

Overall feedback on the ride was extremely positive, with the MCC crew finding it most enjoyable and looking forward to a future opportunity to ride together.

Ronald even made a great video of the day which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS5BG7ZXIVw

If you’re interested in joining our MCC friends for a ride around Kent, go ahead and visit their page for the rides list, which gets updated every month with the location and leaders of their Sunday rides: https://www.mccoffroad.co.uk/rideslist.html 

Be on the lookout for the next joint ride!

by Nuno Luz

The last round for this year of the Southern Enduro series took place last 28th of June at Milland, near Liphook.

My first experience in UK Enduro was exactly here back in September 2023, with definitely very different weather conditions.

What started out as a cool overcast day ended up being quite challenging, with dry and loose terrain that accentuated all the features and adding an extra challenge to riders, myself included!

The race was composed of 5 stages which, unlike the Pedalhounds Mashups, can only be ridden once, not leaving great room for mistakes and bringing the stakes much higher than on the more entry level Pedalhounds series.

Added to this, I had decided to step up from the comfortable and cushy Fun category to my age category, knowing all too well that it would be more demanding and harder to get a mid of the pack position.

After getting my timing chip I then proceeded to practise, where you could get a feeling of each stage, and I immediately realised that the lack of rain and hot weather had changed the track and thus my riding style would have to adjust to this.

The stages are usually quite steep, with pronounced off camber sections, tight corners and some drops, as well as a couple of sections where you would have to negotiate tight trees and a challenging drop. Most of the tighter and slower corners were extremely sandy, and as riders went through practice it became blown out and traction was hard to find.

Given this reality, I tried to increase the compression of my fork a couple of clicks to allow for the harsher terrain and to drop the rebound slightly to compensate.

I did get a bit more traction, but it resulted in a bit harsher riding and more fatigue for me!

To add insult to injury, mid-way through practice the sun had made its glorious appearance, and riding up to the beginning of each stage became quite challenging with temperatures rising to high twenties and at some point 28 degrees Celsius.

This combined with the fact that every time you had to get to the start of a stage you would have a good elevation to tackle, up to 70m at a time and on a heavier enduro bike, made it even harder.

Southern Enduro do seeding on their events, which means that you have to judge your technical expertise and fitness and let them know this so they can slot you in with faster or slower riders. The last thing you want in one of these steep descents is to run into a slower rider and lose time or ruin someone’s run – especially when you only have one go per stage.

When they hosted the nationals in Minehead it was even harder, since seeding was done based on your practice times during the first day, but at least you would get two days of racing.

This time my slot got pushed to 12:40 which was when the sun was at its peak, and the heat had settled. I much prefer to start early, because of how fresh I am and the weather being cooler.

Stages were short, around 1m and 15s up to almost 2m, and for the top riders this would come down to 51s and 1m and 20s respectively. But the nature of the terrain, weather and natural features, as well as some man made ones, added to the increasing effort and fatigue making this a really challenging and technical Enduro race, which I do enjoy.

Hydration and some rest at the top, just by the start of each stage to get the heart rate down, were essential. And then some waiting in line before setting off downhill.

My first, second and third stages were the fastest, even though I felt a bit sluggish that day and wasn’t acclimatising well to the sudden temperature increases. My riding style went from confident to relatively slow and defensive, but still faster than my first experience at Milland back in 2023.

My favourite stage was definitely stage 4, quite flowy with a few jumps, tight corners that were less loose, and the iconic wooden bridge just before the end of the stage.

Stage 2 was definitely the most sandy and challenging with very steep descents leading to tight and narrow blown out corners, and unfortunately I lost some time with some mistakes on both this stage and stage 5, which had a massive impact on my final position.

Because you don’t get another go, I couldn’t do anything and it’s fair enough as it was the same for all the other riders too. I do enjoy this model of competition, but I do prefer mash-ups since you get more runs and every run you can improve, test new lines, learn from your mistakes and get more value from the competition, in my view.

In the end I got 23rd out of 26 riders in the 40-49 category, which was below my expectations but at least I had some fun, made new friends and got to ride my bike on some of the most challenging courses in the South of England.

Now I’m looking forward to my next Enduro race in September, especially since it will be in Milland again, run by Southern Enduro and even better as a Mashup!

If you’re also interested you can sign up here: https://southernenduro.co.uk/events/milland-mashup-enduro-2026/

Happy racing!