The long wait was over, winter had been and gone and come again cancelling the initial set date for round 1, so at the end of April and only a week before round 2 was due we finally managed to see the start of the ever popular Pearce Cycles downhill series begin.

The whole series sold out in a matter on hours I think, so this promised to be as good as ever with each and every rider eager to get their season underway.

A few big names we on the cards; Gee Atherton, Marc Beaumont, Jess Stone, Adam Brayton, Taylor Vernon, were all among the top of their category and this only added to the already exciting atmosphere that had built up.

Rather than wintry conditions that seem to have hounded everybody in SPRING, the weather for the weekend could not have been more welcomed. a cool breeze seemed to be ever present up the hill but it was bone dry and sunny which meant for some excellent conditions even to the point where it was getting a little too loose! Considering the saturated ground we have all become all to familiar with, the dry conditions and dust were only too pleasing to put up with.

I won’t go into too much detail about the results, there is more than enough info at rootsandrain.com for you to digest, I will however share with you some of my shots from the day.

Slightly different from my normal style but I did feel the need and under the circumstances of difficult positions to use a wider lens and capture some other types of shot to enhance my portfolio.

Marc Beaumont on a chainless run to open proceedings

also a chainless Gee Atherton, setting a time of 2:05 for riders to aim for!

Heading into the middle open section where it was very dry and firm

3rd for Adam Brayton aboard his new Hope Demo, looking very nimble indeed!

Harry followed Gee and Marc down to open the series, what a privelige!

Taylor Vernon giving the prototype GT a good workout, 1st in Junior

Fresh from New Zealand, Traharn Chidley took second in Elite women, 8 seconds behind Jess Stone

Callum Hadfield

Gee Atherton pinned on the prototype GT, 2:01.441 his winning time

Another good showing for GT, Marc Beaumont in second place

Annie Matthews looking slick to take 1st place in Senior women

A popular choice of kit it seems…

Dan Sheridan had a fun weekend, 6th for Dan with a few crashes.

Watch Dan Sheridan lighting up Bringewood with some headcam footage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tgPzi2c9sI&feature=youtu.be

Spring appeared to be here finally in the lead-up to the April Racers Guild with a few days of sun to dry the trails up nicely.

The chosen line would be Little Bringe, a nice flowy top down to some tight twisty rooty action at the bottom, which offered riders a nice mixup of conditions for timed practice.

A few of the quick local riders were out for this one including Sam Maddison, Mitch Ingley, Elliot Machin to name a few, so spectating and photographing for me was certainly entertaining.

A few of my better shots of the day are below, if you do not see yourself yet wish to see a photo, please fill out the form on my contact page and I will check the rest of my shots.

A welcome break in the weather made it feel truly like Spring

The lower section of Little Bringe offers tight, twisty and rooty to end the run

A rider looks for possible lines, although options are quite limited

Checking things out in practice

Will Homer of the Racers Guild Squadron picking his way through the lower section

Flat out as per usual for Mr Sam Maddison

Rob Glover taking up his common position mending something on his rig

Props to my riding buddy Craig Tracey, first Guild in a while and did well

Mitch Ingley checking things out with a bit of roost

Veteran Dave Dutton loves it!

High concentration level required in the twisty’s

Tom Gaffney aboard his new Nukeproof Pulse, a very very nice looking rig