VeloCake Panda*

Took the new singlespeed to the Leisure Lakes winter series XC races yesterday for an hour of fast, twisty, singletrack fun and pain. These races used to be hugely popular, but just 25 of us turned up yesterday. Three XC whippets**, and two of those in vets, three kids on jumpy bikes and full face lids, the rest middle-aged but not yet veteran IT managers on expensive full suspension trail bikes and piss-pot lids arguing the toss about – I kid you not – shock pressures and pro-pedal settings for what is possibly the flattest XC course outside of Belgium.

Laps short and sweet and tight twisty wooded singletrack with just a few short sections of doubletrack for passing.

Balls out for 7 laps – perfect distance to keep lungs and legs burning all the way, but without slowing down with fatigue by the end.

Bike was perfect. Subtle change in riding style with a more-forward weight shift going into tight corners means I don’t run wide coming out so could ride much of it brakeless and I managed a couple of laps fairly zoned out just properly flowing and carrying speed.

Remember the DCD? This beat me.

Only the rider let the bike down. I didn’t start as fast as the eventual winner and despite starting to catch him later in the race the distance was a couple of laps short to affect the result. So I was beaten by an old roadie on a ’92 KHS with era-matching kit. In his case retro wasn’t retro, it was just like a bloke who keeps an old Ford Sierra going because it works.

Best of all for this vain old-git though, as I came through the finish I heard the jumpy kids saying that mine was a nice bike.

Stick that in your 5″ travel pipe and smoke it.