Well, that was amusing. There was all this funny brown and green stuff to ride on, quite slippy it were too. :-)

Joe Smith and I arrived at the track at around 10.30pm on saturday night, pleasantly surprised to see plenty of life - people drinking, playing music. Quite a change from the last round at Blyton.

Had a wander around the track so I'd have some clue which way it went and what the surface was like, before settling in for a beer and some socialising. The track seemed interesting, hard packed dirt covered in loose dirt (more on that later). And there's a jump! Woo.

Morning arrived (as they are wont to do) surprisingly nice and sunny. I was looking forward to this. Practice was ok, wobbled around getting used to the bike again and being surprised by the bumps and slides in corners. I really need to get a lot more practice in on slippy/dirty surfaces.

First race arrives, this time I start in the E group rather than the Ds as in all the other races. I seem to have got better at this starting thing, from a near the back grid place I got off the line and actually passed a few people along the straight and onto the dirt section. I think a few people fell off on the first corner, a lot more came past me on the rest of the lap. But according to the result sheet, I wasn't last.

The surface was a little damp at the start of the race and was quite slippery, but after a while it got better as it dried out.

The second race was delayed while the track was watered to keep the dust down. Turned out to be a bad move as it rained while we were forming up on the grid. Another reasonable start form near the back to pass a few people, but as soon as we hit the first corner on to the dirt it was carnage! Bikes down everywhere.

A watered track plus rain on a hard packed surface left a layer of slick mud. Hard enough to stand up on let alone ride a bike.

By some miracle, I stayed on at the first turn and kept a tight line to miss other riders. Wobbled along to the next left hander, got round it, avoiding more downed bikes and promptly fell off. Picked the bike up, and fell over again as my feet slid from under me. Hmm.

Got it going again, and slithered off to the first right hander. More people fell over. Somehow I didn't and carried on until the little slope. Failed to get enough grip to make it to the top and just stood there giggling instead. Looked around to see red flags being waved, which was nice.

Wonder how the talented and fast boys would have coped on that surface.

The third race was re- started on a slightly drier track. Off we go, another reasonable start only to see 2 riders go down in front of me. Narrowly avoided them and continued. Onto the dirt, still slippy, but a little better than before. Red flags are out so we form up again.

Another reasonable start (must work on the rest of the riding thing I think) and into the first bend mid pack. Got passed by a lot after the second left hander and I went down as I tried to get the power on. Oops. The bike started first kick too. Weird.

Off I wobble again, get around as far as the slope up to the jump and despite an attempt to turn through the bend, the bike just wants to go straight on thanks to the mud. Trying to keep upright, I manage to stall it. At this point my knee that must have been knocked in the previous off made itself known and I couldn't start the bike. Oh well, sat on the side and watched others hurtling past. Ged knows how they manage it. :-/

Race three and I was determined to get out and get used to this dirt stuff. Spent ages cleaning all the mud out of the grooves on the tyres and off I went. There was a start at some point, I kept up with ppl a bit, got passed by some ppl a lot and wandered around at the back of the field. Decided I like the little jump though. :-)

At the mid point of the race, the rain started again and the track got slippy. I didn't mind too much as my knee was starting to ache so I was glad to get to the finish.

I think there were a couple more races before the organisers called a halt as the conditions deteriorated. This was probably a good idea, but I know a few were unhappy about it.

Some pictures.