Over the weekend Carrie took part in the Northern Experts Trial for the 2nd time, taking place at Manchester MCC in Wildboarclough. She was hoping for a better experience than last year, with her rear brake falling off partway through the race. This is her first trial back since the Scott trial and having just about fully recovered from the injuries sustained at the Scott trial, Carrie was feeling good and happy to be back.

As Carrie got her trial underway on the clubman route, it took a few sections at the beginning to dust off a few cobwebs from not being on the bike for the last month, but she was battling on through some tough sections well. However, due to the lack of race time recently and being out of her normal training routine, Carrie started to struggle with her bike fitness but made sure to fight through every section, even when she appeared to be stuck.

Despite her struggles, Carrie managed to finish with 40 minutes to spare, which considering her fatigue and others running out of time, was a great achievement.

Carrie managed to finish the trial in 52nd overall and also 3rd woman in the class with 140 points and no time penalties.

This is what Carrie had to say on her weekend:

“Preparing for my start time, the bike was all good, skies were clear, and the weather was fairly mild so it was looking like it would be a good day, and that assumption was correct. It took me a few sections to dust the cobwebs off, but I was getting through some pretty challenging sections quite well all day. The only thing I was struggling with was a bit of fatigue, as my bike fitness had taken a hit from not being in my normal training routine”.

Carrie then went on to say:

“Despite my fatigue, I still managed to finish with around 40 minutes to spare which I was happy with as a fair few ran out of time. Overall, I’m very happy with my 2nd time at the Northern Experts. I finished 52nd in the Clubman class and 3rd woman in the class too. I’m now looking forward to a solid winter of training and looking at any trails in the remainder of 2024 in preparation to make 2025 another great season”.