Coastal Trailquest: Cornwall

Cape Cornwall Golf Course at St Just was the dramatic base for Round 6 of the Coastal Trailquest Series. In a commanding position above the cliffs, there was a lot of sea in view - head west from here and the next time hit land you’re on a different continent. The morning broke (yet again) with brilliant sunshine, though a cool breeze was a gentle reminder that this was early spring, not early summer. The sense of drama within the landscape was fantastic, and has been a feature of all the events of the series. I’ve discovered new areas that have offered much more riding potential than I expected, and one was no exception.

The event area had a familiar look to it – a complex mix of roads, lanes, byways and bridleways across which were scattered some fifteen checkpoints. As I linked each one up before the start, it was clear a lot of thought had gone into their placement as there were many route options, most of which encouraged the use of other off road trails to link checkpoints, rather than heading for the nearest tarmac alternative. I took the hint and set out to weave these little extra off road sections into my planned route, and I wasn’t disappointed - all the trails were fantastic. A wonderful mix of fast broad gravel tracks and bridleways to narrow, twisty and challenging singletrack along cliff paths was my reward for taking this strategy.

It’s worth noting that the series league was tight at this point. I was trailing James Hunt, but a win here would keep the series open to the last round – an exciting prospect. I knew that I had to get all the checkpoints if I stood a chance of beating James and at half way I was feeling confident. But, the latter half was a different story – navigational errors crept in which cost me valuable minutes I couldn’t afford to loose. Finally I arrived back at event base, with all checkpoints visited, but 3 minutes left on the clock. If Jameswas any quicker, he’d have won the series. And he was, twelve minutes quicker – not all that much in over 90km of riding. James earned a well deserved victory both for this round and for the league overall.

Cornwall was possibly my favourite round to date, and well worth driving the extra few miles for. A big well done and thanks to the guy’s at Endurance Life for picking the very best from this area, which was magnified with the glorious weather. I’m looking forward to the last round of the series in Exmoor next month.