A ride, a race or just a weekend camping?

There are beginnings and endings, and usually when it ends there are some good reasons for that. Rarely do you want to linger in the past, and return to your ex on a regular basis. But the Merida Ex is a different story. 

We’re not talking about some washed up relationship, but a full weekend of racing in Exmoor with catered meals, drinks and camping for the weekend included. Timed descent stages. Epic trails. Great food. Good people. The type of ex you want to see again. Besides main sponsor Merida, Shimano is also a supporter of the event and present with a team of mechanics providing support to everyone. Entry numbers are limited to 100 riders, which make for a very unique and low-key format.

Arrival at Basecamp

Bossington is situated on Exmoor’s coast just over a hill from the small town of Minehead. Here I find the Campground on a small enclosed grassy pitch. The local Village Hall housed the catering & the ‘mission control’ hub for all the race timing and event admin. The campground gives you a great view on the surrounding hills, including Dunkery Beacon - the 519m high summit that marks the highest point on Exmoor and the start for some of the timed stages. 

While packing for the event I found myself in a bit of a hurry, so instead of reading the brief I got from the organisation I packed a random array of bike kit, camping gear and provisions to survive off the grid for a weekend. Beers, snacks, food, water, toothpaste. Most of it totally unnecessary, as the organisation is excellent. There was beer on site, together with anything else you might need to not starve or dehydrate. Bring your camp kit and you’re good to go! 

Morning Rituals

Tired legs are slow to get moving in the morning but a tasty cooked breakfast is a good incentive for them. A short line-up formed at the breakfast bar for the full-english buffet, but if dinner for breakfast isn’t your thing there were a plethora of fruity, cereally style options to choose from too. You could even drop in on the pre-ride Yoga class if your morning routine would allow time, but I was always too late to the party. Watching others fold and bend themselves in various shapes did however offer me a reminder to at least stretch my legs before heading out. 

Pre-ride briefing was suitably ‘brief’- just a ‘what to remember’ chat. Great, because we’re here to ride bikes after all! There were paper maps available showing distances, elevation and in depth explanations about some of the singletrack gems we were about to ride only were available for the event. It did make me feel quite special and privileged. 

The morning started with an uplift to the first stage. The perfect way to start the day if you ask me, although it was a bit of a scramble to get the bikes carefully stacked into the back of a van. Somehow they squeezed two dozen enduro rigs in each van, without any scratches or transport damage done. I’m sure they're great at Tetris too! After arriving at the top it became a guessing game, which van would eject your bike. After standing around and being in everyone's way for a little bit, I came up with a solid strategy: have your bike loaded last. It'll be first out of the van and you’ll be swiftly onto the first stage!

Against the Clock

It was stated during the briefings that the Merida EX Enduro is more a fun event and less a race. Not only does this help create the special vibe of the event, it also helps with getting access to the trails on privately owned land and within the Exmoor national park. Either way, with 24 stages (3 of which were night stages!) plotted out from Bossington, it is a lot of miles against the clock whether you take it seriously or not. The blind racing format means no track walk, no praccy runs - one shot at it & make it count! 

The region is well known for its quality dirt, the trails are a mix of loam, rocks, roots. A few stages kicked-off with open grassy turns on hilltops before dropping into forest where steep rooty and technical sections were waiting for you. To me, the most fun sections to race blind were the tight corners in the forest. Loamy goodness all the way to the finish line! All the trails were packed full of features and the weather gods were on our side. With a sprinkle of rain making the soil grippy and dust free. 

Race day number one was action packed, and I was glad to make it down all the stages without stacking it. Riding trails is one thing, but once the clock starts ticking you switch into a different gear I didn’t even know I had! With the sunlight fading behind the hills of south wales, we were ready to drop into the night stage which is sponsored by Exposure lights. There were demo riding lights available courtesy and I managed to get my hands on their latest Zenith MK2 at 2100 lumens and Six Pack MK12 5250 lumens. The broad beams and brightness made it feel like I was racing down in daylight! Not sure if seeing the trail clearly made my race time much better though, often it’s better to not see the scary stuff. 

Night racing really was one of the highlights of the weekend. I rarely ride at night (note to self, change that!) and racing through the pitch dark is at another level. Your focus is set to 110 and even the tamer trails become fun and challenging. To top it off, the organisers set up a BBQ in an old stone barn just a short roll down the hill from the finish line. Beers included of course. What a way to end the day!

Tea & Biscuits

On day two my legs started to protest. It was the biggest day of racing for the whole weekend and my body felt like a cardboard box. Right after stage 4 my legs turned to slush and I was wondering how I was going to survive the remaining 5 stages. I whipped out the map and was happy to see it told me I was one timed stage away from a refuel. We all know that lunch stops are critical!

The lunch stop was a buzz. Bikes and helmets cluttered a narrow cul-de-sac lane which would otherwise be empty and silent. Hefty looking bikers holding tiny little teacups & saucers was a sight to see too. There was a continuous flow of cake and sandwiches being served out on fancy multi-tier serving stands. Proper china plates for the sandwiches too, posh! 

All that food and tea preceded a brutal climb nicknamed ‘the vominator’ (exactly what's needed after a couple rounds of tuna sandwiches). With the climb in mind I gobbled down a full-fat Coke from the ice bucket before setting off. Grab the sugars while you can! You could even opt for a shot of Gaviscon and a few jelly sweets for the pocket if you were particularly sugar deprived. Prizes were to be awarded to anyone who made the climb in one go with ‘zero dabs’. It was not marshalled entirely to top, no one knows how many riders really cleared the awfully steep climb, I know I was not one of them. I pushed most of the way up, struggling with my cardboard box body and legs made from jelly. Perhaps they should do a prize for people that didn’t put their feet on the pedals! 

Together we suffer, alone we ride

My rider number was 101 - the very last number registered - and I was surprised that I spent quite some time suffering alone on the climbs. Considering that together we were some 100 riders out in the hills following the same route I thought I could find some support along the way. Without distraction it was hard to ignore the fatigue, legs were tired even just pushing the bike. It was hard to imagine I was racing, it felt more like survival at times! 

But queueing at stages, I felt the nervous excitement watching the riders in front drop in for their run. Each rider was cheered on by the rest of the pilots waiting for their descent. I too pedalled hard out of the gate, harder than I thought I could, and I was often left wondering: what powers the motor? Who is steering this vessel? The can of Monster Energy I downed 5 hours ago - is it still working? I think it was, because I exhausted myself on the ‘downs’ enough to leave me spent for the ‘ups’. I couldn't help it. Trails were too much fun, the vibes were good and the competitive spirit was real. Later on the weekend as more people started to feel like cardboard boxes, the clan of riders pushing their bikes grew. Now the ups were a bit more bearable and fuelled by banter and heckling we supported each other to the top. 

Abandoning the Ex

Day three. It was great hanging out with the ex, but by now I knew why we split. My sleeping bag had some magic magnetic properties that I could barely defy, but I managed to summon my body for a feeding in the breakfast tent. As the day progressed I regained some strength. Miracles do exist, I thought to myself as I reached the final climb of the weekend. My legs and lungs were on fire, and I still needed to do the long pedal up ‘n over to the final stage of the weekend. Along a high ridge you could see for miles out over the channel. Inland I could even pick out Dunkery Beacon and Hopcott woods where all the race action had taken place. Moving at a good pace, the thought of a cold beer pushed me to pedal a little harder. I must say I was a little sad that I'd soon be smashing down the last descent of the event. When rolling back into camp feeling there's that special Ex feeling. Shattered after the days riding, bikers everywhere and all in good spirits. I headed to mission control to hand in my wristband for the last time. I felt relieved as I moved to the buffet where a huge spread of food had been put out. I piled a plate with caloric goodness and headed to the marquee to watch the most talented riders amongst us receive their prize.

Not only the fastest of the event got their moment of honours though. Many prizes were awarded throughout the weekend for random feats. Undeterred one guy lost his chain halfway through the day, another crashed, broke 3 toes and a rib. While I was out there uninjured and without mechanicals pondering if I could continue they had pressed on regardless. Now that’s character! With the organisers and staff of the EX putting on such a great show I still considered myself to be a winner despite all my suffering along the way. In the end, it’s the riding that counts and I had a blast. What a unique experience of trails, people and laughs. Do yourself a favour, go see your Ex next year!

By IMB

Comments