I'll start by giving you some background information how this whole event came to life.
A guy called Tim Black, the manager of Team Big Peaks was starting to get a bit bored with the whole turn up race and then go again scenario, so thought he would give this sport the well needed shake up.
Sprinkle a bit of fun and mystery into the equation. After the success of the team's Facebook page he thought what better way of getting the word out to all by starting up one dedicated to this masterpiece. So there you have it, the cookie race was born, now the hard task of finding somewhere to race.
To keep the element of surprise Tim decided that the cookie race wouldn't stay in one place for too long, It's taken many dog walking sessions to find the best spots with lots of variation in mind.
Being from Torbay and wishing to keep his carbon foot print down to a minimum Tim, myself and a few others associated with the team started to build a couple of tracks. The first one being perfectly man made and the other one more old school, lots of off camber and roots that could take even the worlds best riders a while to get the hang of.
Torbay isn't known for having the biggest mountains in the country so with that in mind the tracks had to be made long enough so if you blinked you wouldn't miss all the action. After 3 long hard months of building and drinking in our local pub we managed to make two masterpieces, both just over 1 minute in length if pinning it and managing a clean run, easier said than done.
So now to the important part, the guess list! Who to invite to the cookie races? We want it to be fun, open to all ages and sexes and give people a day to remember. The guys from woodland riders are always at the top of the list. With a few up and coming local riders right behind them, the likes of Jay Williams and Haby-blu Cann. Then we put the word out and about, the amount of interest we get is amazing, it seems people have been waiting for something like this to come along for ages. We can only offer a maximum of 30 places so the tracks don't become over run and the risk to others in the area is kept at a minimum. With all the places taken the only information they are given is the date and a few ideas of where it might be held. We don't want any people not invited turning up.
Two days before the event the lucky few with an invite are sent a map to the parking area and direction to the race tent in the middle of the woods. The day starts at ten with everyone getting signed in and given a number board. Only after that's completed can tracks be reviled. Practise lasts for the rest of the morning until we shut the tracks and allow just over 30 minutes for lunch so we can all have a good giggle and the mind games can get under way.
We run the event on two tracks and you get one timed run on each then we add the times together. We find by doing it this way the guys on the top spots at the start are not always the ones there at the end, again adding some excitement into the concoction. After everyone has done their runs we all walk the tracks checking for any rubbish and taking down the race tape, its like the whole thing never happened, nature can carry on its way. Then it's off to the nearest pub for the results and to give out what we all came for - the home made cookies supplied by team big peaks outstanding chief Michelle Black. In the few weeks running up to the races we go on the scrounge for some small bits we can give away to those worthy of top spot in hardtail and full suss. Its can range anywhere from a monster energy hat to a 7 up old classic but in mint condition bike. So it's always worth trying that little bit harder for. To keep the turn over of faces changing we made the decision to add one rule to the event, this being only top 12 in full suss and top 5 in hardtail will get and invite to the next race. It's nice to give others the chance to enjoy the fun.
So to sum things up it's a low key, fun packed day that only costs a fiver with everyone getting a taste of the cookies and making some all important new riding buddies. If your interested in coming to one of the events go on our facebook site Team Big Peaks and leave a note on the wall or email Tim direct at teambigpeaks.co.uk or just come say hi if you see us out and about.
Just a quick thanks to all that work really hard at making this event happen and to the teams sponsors:-
Big Peaks in Ashburton
100% Health in Paignton
KBC goggles
Roof top studios
Article by: Dan Fisher
www.bigpeaks.com.
