Events: Aviemore Scotland

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Aviemore Wrap Up

Posted by Darren Lott on Saturday, 2 June 19101, at 11:43 p.m.

Hot Heels, set in the stunning Austrian Alps, can only be characterized as an "Ideal" event. Chris Beard and his wife Jo have attended Hot Heels for the past three years. Chris hasn't had the money to travel to any of the US races. So when he aspired to put on a British event, he only had Hot Heels to use as a model. Thank God. The result is the only other event which deserves the title "Ideal."

Several things go into making an event Ideal, and the track is just the start. The event is set in the beautiful Scotish Highlands, which explains it media moniker "Highland Wheels Extreme." You can fly into Inverness which is less than an hour from your destination by car. If you don't wish to rent a car, you can catch a bus to a train that literally stops across from the Hotel.

Aviemore is a very small ski resort town. The track is the road that leads up to the ski lifts. The scenery from the airport to the hotel, and from the hotel to the start line, are worth the price of admission. The town itself can be walked several times in deciding where you'd like to eat. Fish and Chips (a "Chippy"), Burgers, Nachos, All you can eat Pizza/Pasta, and Coffee Shops alternate with the Bank, Sporting Goods, Travel Agent and the like. For the spicier appetite, an upscale Indian restaurant is only a short walk. An excellent Italian restaurant is about a 15 minute walk from the hotel, but worth it. Kurtis Head screwed up the dinner bill division by insisting on leaving a 30% tip, he had such a good meal.

The rooms at Freedom Inn were very affordable, clean, and had little refrigerators, sinks and stoves. Between the Inn and the train/town is a Tesco supermarket. You could easily stock your room with any goodies (ie beer) you wanted for the stay. A nice breakfast was included at a fixed time each morning (7:30 am for the racers). Another benefit was that all of the participants, organizers, parties and meeting were at the same place. The proprietors even seemed tolerent of the dozens of luges scattered outside and sometimes in the lobby. The tartan carpet constantly reminds you are in Scotland.

Transportation to and from the track was provided by a large tour bus courtesy of the organizers. Normally shuttled in the back of moving vans, the racers were thrilled to sit in comfortable seats on their way up the course. When the first bus leaked oil onto the track, the track was closed. Racers originally felt Chris might be overly cautious in preempting the practice run. But after seeing how the oil had been picked up and tracked across the tricky corners by cars, everyone was thankful for Chris's wisdom in saving them from certain catastrophy. The oil was quickly cleaned and a newer and even nicer bus was brought to replace it.
The opening ceremonies featured "Spud" the Bagpiper. Spud quickly became a favorite of the racers, and everyone made sure to pose for a picture with him. Racers suited up as the inspiring strains of "Amazing Grace" echoed through the Highlands.

The track is the longest and fastest in the World Cup circuit. At 2.5 miles (4K) it required over 1,100 haybales and reams of snow fence to protect. The organizers even built Marshalling stands to provide enough safe "eye coverage" of the massive track. Speed estimates put the fastest riders at over 70 mph.
The volunteer marshals and course officials were "brilliant." They all knew their jobs and performed them admirably. The result was an event which ran as though it was celebrating it's 10th year, and not working out the bugs of a first year race.

With such a long track, there was no need for lane lines, blending zones, or other artifice at the start. Consequently, there were no false starts and none of the extrememly distasteful DQs that can characterize the shorter track events. Riders picked where they wanted to be on the road based on qualifiying times. It was crowded with 6 men across, but if hands collided during the unlimited paddle, the racers would apologize, and paddle one handed until they could move to a clear spot. There was plenty of time to make up ground.
There had been some controversy surrounding the need to put in an artificial chicane, hoping to "scare the riders" into slowing down. Fortunately good sense (and restrictions on traffic flow) prevailed. The track followed the natural lines of the road. Two main features gave everyone more than enough excitment: The "Juice Box" and the "Gun Barrel."

Gun Barrel is a left 180 degree switchback which can be taken at about 30 mph. However, the approach to the Gun Barrel is almost 60 mph. Those who failed to exercise judicious braking had a taste of hay and pain. Fortunately the number of accidents was minimal and the degree of injury only moderate.
Coming out of the switchback with speed was critical. The track flattened and perhaps even went a bit uphill. A poor exit meant excruciating slow progress as all the trailing riders shot past. An excellent exit put even a trailing rider "back in the hunt" for 1st place.

After the Flats, the "Sugar Bowl" arced 180 degree right. It was taken by everyone without braking because of relatively low speed, but a good line was crucial to track positioning for the "Big Drop" on the exit.
With speeds already leaping over 60 mph, the "Juice Box" was next. It was named for a spectator's juice box thrown into the road before the turn. But it stuck because no one wanted to be juiced there. As brave as everyone claimed to be, the course was littered with nervous braking marks prior to the bend. The pavement was definitely uneven, as evidenced by the paint warnings left by the stand up riders. At about 70 mph, it was a high-G left, through the bumps and prep for another high-G right. The bumps would make the riders shift and dance through the turn. The wheels of the heavier riders actually smoked under the stress. Hooking another rider in the Juice Box could send everyone into the surrounding forest, exploding against the trees like victims of an airline accident. And hence, all the nervous braking marks.

All the speed was not wasted, and the rest of the sweeping turns on the course kept racers busy. There was plenty of time and room for drafting and passing before the finish. Also time to dodge the few moronic spectators who always confuse these events with a Running of the Bulls.

STANDUP: Gary Hardwick stunned the racers by qualifying 30 seconds behind what was expected. Everyone suspected a timing error and so Gary was seeded 2nd. It was a good call as Hardwick took the gold, followed by #2 qualifier Daryl Freeman. Chris Chaput had on his "Big Hat" and was drafting Freeman chanting "I got 2...I got 2...I got 2...I got...What do you mean I got 4th!!??" It seems Mark Golter had similar plans and executed them right at the line. It was close enough to warrant a photo finish but even the video wasn't conclusive. Fortuately all four judges independently agreed they saw Golter take the bronze.

STREET LUGE: Dave Rogers established the Street Luge track record at 2:41, two seconds ahead of the next fastest qualifier Brent DeKeyser. Dave was on fire as usual.

The luge final had about 5 lead changes. Kurtis Head was in front going into the Gun Barrel. His wheels began to smoke and he slid wide as he locked John Fryer out with him. Pete Eliot dove inside and momentarily had first place. But Dave Rogers went further inside and took the lead away for himself.
Darren Lott was trailing, but nailed the exit. His new 8 wheeled pegless luge leapt through the flats, coming strong onto Dave and Pete, just as Pete was airbraking in behind Dave. Darren flew past the both of them and now had the lead through the Sugar Bowl and then down the Big Drop. With only the threat of the Juice Box up ahead, it looked to be Darren's race.

But Dave Rogers is #1 for a reason. In the scariest part of the Juice Box, he cut through the inside, flew across the bumps and into the lead, hitting Darren's feet in the process. Darren noted that being pegless that day probably saved them both and Dave replied "If it hadn't been you, I wouldn't have even tried a pass there."
Eliot made use of his drafting positon on Dave and was the next to challange Darren. However he lost momentum and stalled before getting past Darren's knees. The two struggled for the best lines down the remaining course and eventually Darren pulled back out into a clear 2nd. But the messing about and double drafting hole gave Tom Mason a chance to catch up and pass Eliot at the finish. Eilot was left with 4th, followed by Head and John Fryer.

BUTTBOARD: The long fast course was a challenge to the Buttboarder's skills and stamina. It certainly favored the Luge and yet Dave Rogers and Gerhard Lanz managed Buttboard times better than half the Street Luge field. However, it was Darren Lott's course that weekend and he set down a blistering 2:46 run that put him a full 6 seconds ahead of the two Hot Heels Champions.

The field was 16 riders strong, running the 6 man Supermass format. Richard Hodkinson and organizer Chris Beard both ran boards which were constructed from plywood while at the event!
British favorite Jeremy Gilder crashed out in the first round, leaving Beard, Eliot, Pete Love, and Tim Hilton to bring home the bacon for Queen and Country. Chris Beard was the most likely candidate with a qualifying time 3 seconds faster than even Gilder's; but it was not to be, and British "bacon" turns out to be more like overcooked, super-salty, ham slices.

It was the newly minted "Dr. Love" who was the Brit to make the Buttboard finals. And also to swith from an opponent of the sport to a recent convert. It turns out they did learn Pete a few things at Oxford before granting his Phd.

Regardless of qualifying times, no one was ready to give Darren the win. Dave Rogers led into the Gun Barrel and Gerhard came rocketing in hot and late pulling it together an instant before taking Darren into the hay. Dave noticed Darren passing on the Flats and requested some of Darren's speed in exchange for staying on the smooth section of road. Darren declined, kept avoiding Dave until he was past, and didn't look back until after the checkered flag.

Dave held 2nd place and Gerhard made a comeback to take 3rd. Tom Mason came in 4th, followed by Pete Love and Werner Buechel.

AWARDS: The Scotish Weather had been freakishly good thoughout the 3 days of riding. The awards cermony featured amazing trophy wheels Chris had machined out of aluminum blocks. There were Nixon watches for the 1st place winners, and donated Scotch from the local distilleries. Darren gave some blubbering acceptance speech, noting how British Airways and Virgin Atlantic had "lost" all his luggage for 3 days, and that the Grace and donations of his competitors provided him with running gear for the first critical practice day. Spud the Piper returned and everyone spontaneously gathered for a group photo. The Highlands echoed with the sound of the Pipes. Then the sky got a bit misty, and it proceded to rain for the next several days.

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