Hill of Fare Enduro 2017

The beautiful sun up to accompany a calm start to the day, with just a sheen of frost. This proved to be the lull which preceded the storm!


The event village for the inaugural Aberdeenshire local Enduro, being run by DoonThaBrae Events, was set up in the Echt Showfield with a special thanks to CR Contractors, trail builders, who provided power and sanitation. Once the weather turned it was brutal, with rain and wind hard into the face of the 80 odd riders being set off by Chris Roper from Ride In Peace Adventures on the long pull to the top of Greymore.




The top section of the first trail "Gnarly Greymore", muddy at the best of times, became a battle through the bog, before the run opened up into a drier but more technical second half. Survival of the fittest! A short transition and more techie stuff for the top of the next trail "Bitchin", before heading into twists, turns and jumps through the trees.

Whipping down 'Bitchin' trail 2.


A gentle loop around to climb back up to the third trail "My Little Pony", with some fast loamy sections through the trees and rocking the roots to settle things down.

"This is the marshal from Trail 3, we have riders in sight!"


With that one in the bag, head straight across the forest road to tackle the brand new trail on the hill "DoonThaBrae", put together by some intrepid trail fairies, after nearby "Teddybears Picnic" had been retired, due to badgers about. More flowy riding through the loam and some tight trees, before a tricky steep finish, with rock slabs to play with on the way. Riders were starting to get weary and faced a long transition to the final trail, with deja vu creeping in before peeling off the up cycle to Gnarly Greymore, to head to the mast at Mither Tap. A wild spot, manned by an intrepid marshal with a smile on her face, for last long descent, though more mud and finishing with some steep stuff, to get the pulse racing.

Rock and rolling down the foot of 'DoonThaBrae' trail 4.

The final couple of kilometres on the tarmac back to the event village, check back in and let's get some dry clothes on.


"Phew, that was muddy."

Good to see Deesidely Tasty dishing out the pulled pork and other hot tasty treats. The Bennachie Bike Bothy was giving some TLC to the bikes, which had had as hard a day as their owners. The Ham Huck Syndicate were in town with their workshop too. The NETCO tent provided everyone opportunity to fund what the plans are for a permanent trail centre in NE Scotland - let's hope that comes soon. Other events can be found using the RaceDate App, who were in the village too. With everyone home safe and sound, the Rescue Medics, had the quietest day of all, with not a single injury to deal with.




Prizing giving time and the wind dropped, the clouds began to part and the sun tried to make an appearance. With podiums completed and prizes handed out from fantastic sponsors Alpine Bikes, Edinburgh Cycles, Bennachie Bike Bothy, Velvet Cycles, Banchory Cycles, Race Date and CR Contractors, it was true to say that this was an event where all the finishers were winners in such tough conditions. A huge thanks to everyone who made this first local Enduro in NE Scotland happen, with kind permission for land use by Duncecht Estates and Forestry Commission Scotland. Hopefully there will be more to come.





Results here.

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MENTIONS: @DoonThaBraeEvents

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