Muddy Hell at Herne Hill Velo was a hell of a lot of fun.
It was a Halloween themed Cyclo X ride, that was slightly out of season, taking place a week or so after All Hallows' Eve.
The cycling calendar tends to get a little congested.
Muddy Hell however proved be anything but. The rather seasonal weather meant that the cross country parts of the circuit were rather dry.
Boo, hiss, etc.
The sizeable crowd had only come along to see riders come tumbling down, right?
The course was a mixture of some track riding, a large ramp, some bunny hop hurdles through a tent, and then the back of the Velo cross-country style.
It looked challenging during the fading light for the youth race; come darkness when the big boys and girls came out to race, and rather you than me.
The kids were great. This wasn’t so much about winning, but enjoying the track and surrounds in fancy dress.
With darkness descending around Herne Hill, the Best Costume race for the adults followed.
There was some ACE efforts. Shout out to Action Man, ET and the dude in a blow up dinosaur costume - who I think had to abandon after it became clear that his costume wasn’t compatible with cycling?
A full on proper race followed. Apologies, but time was tight for me and I couldn’t hang around.
I bloody love le Velo and all that it has grown to become in the past ten years or so.
