Sibford Growler 6th November 2022

Hope you have all cleaned your bike!
The day started with low cloud and fog with heavy rain expected about 12.30. Lots of riders wanted an early start so they would finish before the rain. The early starters finished in sunshine with big smiles and plenty of chat about mud. The later riders got caught in a torrential storm and finished with not so big smiles but maybe slightly less mud clinging onto their bikes.
The area has challenging terrain made more difficult with slimy surfaces or clogging mud on some field sections. For the majority of riders it was a new area and comments were made about the fantastic network of bridleways and lanes.
Only 7 riders attempted the Sun Rising escarpment at the northern end of the map. In drier conditions the three controls there might have been the deciding factor for the top places.
Most riders headed west to Control 29 for their first control, after that there were many variations of route choice.
Will Dixon came out as top rider, having ridden 20 miles to get to the event.
Thanks to everyone for entering – what a fantastic number. Great to see lots of new riders and some youngsters having a go.
Many thanks to Ian for his work on the computer side of running an event and for coming out to the map area and letting me lead him astray in an area he hadn’t ridden before. I did fit in a café stop, sunshine and dry tracks so it really wasn’t too bad. Also, for putting out and collecting controls on days that were predicted to have heavy rain but they actually didn’t.
Thanks to Lance (my husband) who shudders every time I get a map out and wonders where I’m off to next. Lance helped put out and collect controls and helped all day at the HQ.
Thanks to Steve, Diz, Den and John who helped do various jobs. They have all helped at my two previous events and volunteered to help again when they heard about the Sibford Growler. Lucky me.
Lets hope the higher number of riders for the first event of the season is an indication of things to come.
Thanks again everyone and if you haven’t cleaned your bike yet you know what your next job is.