When he’s not teaching history in Monmouth School, Mr Lewis spends his time racing Cross Country mountain bikes for his sponsors (Trek/Gary Fisher, Accelerade and Exposure lights). His most recent race, the Forest of Dean Enduro on Sunday 26th September was a 40-mile gruelling track in (guess where) the Forest of Dean.
From my fortunate placement as a race marshal, I could see a good deal of the action as the riders came flying by, and I was stunned by the pace Mr Lewis was keeping on his Gary Fisher Superfly 29er. He led the race for two and a half laps, then dropped back to third, and eventually sixth. Out of 64 other ‘masters’ four lap riders and a total of 301 riders competing, that’s a result worth celebrating. However, he seemed strangely discontented with it when asked, saying “It started very well. I held on for three laps, but a combination of starting off too fast and a longer distance than I’m used to resulted in horrible leg cramp on the final lap”. In all fairness, a result anyone could dream of is not quite as significant if you’re one of the top ten riders of his age (over thirty) in the country. This was reflected in my post-race chat with the eventual winner, who told me that Mr Lewis was “the fastest thing I’ve ever seen go up a hill”.
Mr Lewis has been riding competitively for about four years, and doesn’t plan on stopping “until he’s an old[er] man”. He has plans to get a mountain biking club started in the school for enthusiastic riders to participate in training and a few races. He noted the presence of Cheltenham College and Clifton coaches at the event (both schools entering the races), and said he hoped to produce a similar result in Monmouth.
I hope to see him at next years Enduro, where he will undoubtedly be back on form and comfortably in the lead.
Report by Alasdair, 6.1