We had so much fun up driving up the M1 the week before, we decided to do it all over again. This time for the event some describe as "better than Christmas", a bold claim to live up to, yet Peaty's Steel City DH didn't disappoint.
Running every spring since 2011, Steel City has always been a little different to your average mountain bike event, with 11 year old rippers racing against World Cup stars and World Champions, not to mention one of the largest number of female racers in the UK.
After arriving late Friday, we hoped for a smooth run during the early morning set-up. With everything unloaded and the sun out, things were looking good- that is until we went to move the van, currently sat on the final stretch of track.
"Where are the keys?!"
The following 15 minutes of pocket patting, box unpacking and seat searching, our smiles gradually turned to panic. The friendly throughout organisers were getting a little twitchy- What if we can't find them? How can we move the van? Who can hotwire a transit? Fortunately a few kind souls saved the day, searched again and stopped the van being a new last minute feature on track.
Asides from a few track holds due to crashes on course, close racing ensured the crowds forgot about the cold and kept the atmosphere buzzing. Darth Vader and one of his troops even took to course...
Attempting to leave in a less dramatic fashion than we arrived, we set about packing up. During what felt like a million point turn to get the van pointing in the right direction, who should we almost roll into... none other than Steve Peat himself, grinning away on his quad. I'd love to say it was the first time he's been witness to my driving skills today.
Wes Fife
Chris Sutcliffe
Huge Congrats to Chay Granby taking the Vet's win