R4 Mower Mec 2-Up Series: Bridgnorth CC 10

Organisers were left scratching their heads after the lowest turnout ever for a County level event saw just one pair present themselves for Round 4 of The Mower Mec 2-Up Series, Bridgnorth CC’s 10. With far more volunteers than riders present Mason Durant and Paul Duncan, the Series leaders rode unopposed to add a further 20 points to their lead on the rolling Boningale to Shifnal course in their first sight of this testing ‘out and back’. With a grippy, haphazardly chipped surface that doesn’t do any favours; and a gradual and at times unrelenting climb to the turn normally into the prevailing wind it is best described as ‘sporting’. This was reflected in the ‘winning’ time of 22 minutes 13 seconds – not that Durant and Duncan wouldn’t take the opportunity to test themselves against the clock regardless of the lack of competition.

Thankfully the wind wasn’t in their faces up the slope, but was enough to be off-putting, as Duncan explained: “I haven’t ridden that course before and it was much tougher than it seemed when driving to the HQ. The road surface definitely isn’t smooth and rolls up or down for pretty much the entire route. We had some fairly strong crosswinds, but not much in the way of head or tailwinds. The ride went reasonably well with no real problems encountered, but it would have been nice to have some competition to bench our time against”. Durant added: “The 2-up performance was good as Paul and I are getting better drilled. Unfortunately we had no one to compare our performance to, but on the plus side, we got maximum points – thanks to the organisers for turning up in greater numbers than the competitors”.

Organiser and Series supporter Tim Beardmore was left contemplating the issue post-race and concluded: “I don’t think running it two days after the Championship 100 helped; I think in future I’ll run the 2-Up within a normal club 10 to make it worthwhile” suggesting a tweak to the 2024 programme.

Result:

Cumulative Standings after four rounds

Overall

Mixed Team