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A friend of mine is entering.... and trying to rope me in. I wouldn't go silly... would probably go for the 6 hour option. But how would that compare to say - the old Brighton Big Dog? Both in terms of course/technicality and also the crowd it attracts.
I would be very much there to ride around, probably in baggies - and just seeing if I can ride for that long post injury. I won't be at the business end by any stretch... but still don't want to be completely outclassed by the whole field, continually yielding to the lycra whippets.
and is it worth camping?
FWIW - I'm solidly mid pack in the Gorrick Brass Monkeys if that gives any sort of barometer.
EDIT - in the old boys (50+) category.
It's also a bloomin' long drive for me to get there...
Thanks!
Well it's the old Exposure/Pivot/Bonty 24:12. I would say it attracts a very similar crowd to The Big Dog and the course is at the same level of difficulty, ie ideal for endurance but fun and interesting. We did 24:12 for years and it was always great, well apart from the storm one when there was carnage and the race stopped early, but even that was great up until then. Yeah, camp over, it's all included. No point driving home when you are tired and in need of proper beery rehydration.
I race at Newnham quite a lot (and did the Brass Monkeys this year too). Newnham will always involve considerably more climbing than the Gorrick/Brass Monkeys venues. If the winter XC series laps are anything to go by you'd be looking at c100ft elevation in every mile, with each lap being somewhere between 4.5 and 7 miles. If you've not raced at Newnham before, the singletrack will be a bit more technical and steeper than Gorrick in general, but the B lines will all be rideable.
I did the 12h last year and am in for the 24h this year. It should be a great event, I know Steve and Jayne (the organisers) are putting loads of effort to give it the 'fun/party' feel, so hopefully worth staying even after your race is finished. There will be some lycra-whippets but I expect there will be plenty of riders just out for a good time.
Few years since I did it, but always been a fun event and pretty relaxed other than a few teams and individuals (understandably) taking it seriously. Went for years in teams and we would camp trackside and heckle and give light hearted “encouragement”, last time I went there was a funny motivation station, and it was all pretty chill. Unfortunately the weather sometimes made it challenging, the last year I did it was the year it closed early I think, I remember having to stop literally every 30 seconds to wipe my glasses which were completely covered in mud.
And newnham will always been fondly remembered by those of us into mountain biking a longer time due to the World Cup there in the 1990s
We did 24:12 for years and it was always great, well apart from the storm one when there was carnage
Unfortunately the weather sometimes made it challenging, the last year I did it was the year it closed early I think
I never understood how the weather managed to change at every 24/12 from lovely weather on the Saturday to horrible drizzle or worse on the Sunday. It felt like the season changed every year at around 2am on Sunday. And yes, the storm year was carnage. One of my team spent the whole night holding down his gazebo.
I'll be at 3Six12, doing a 12 hour pair with a friend. I've missed 24hr racing, but have struggled to put a team together for the first time ever, and don't want to do a solo.
Been going each time since 2014. It attracts a mixed range of people. Some ride in baggies with backpacks while other in full XC race gear. I like doing the 12hr solo and just ride at a comfortable pace with an aim to do more miles than my previous year.
Take plenty of food; there are some food stalls but never enough range of food for everyone.
Also take some kind of shelter; not just a tent.
So how did it go everyone?
We had a great time. I was in 12 hr vet open pairs... and with only 5 rides this year, it was more about lasting the 12 hrs than going particularly fast. My partner was quicker which helped! Anyway, the course was great, 8.5miles, plenty of climbing and all the good descents. Campsite support/hecking/ramp to jump was great. My wife and son were also in the 12hr pairs, but they were much faster and lapped us, twice! Anyway, we lasted the 12 hrs, so happy with that. Would like to have been smashing the climbs, so a good reminder to actually ride a bit more before doing it next year. Anyway, top weekend!
Yak well done and yep it was a great course and the campsite support and cheering plus the ramp jump with the kids cheering was great fun.
We was doing solo 24hr which we just kept on going and going which worked for use.
have to say the on the trails to everyone was very friendly out on the course to. Great to see under 16 riders out to and racing, well done all who took part.
Jay
I thought it was a great event, did 6hour pairs with my 14 year old son. He was a bit nervous as he had some poor experiences at xc races with competitive angry kids with angry dads in the past so has stuck to triathlons since (who would have guessed they'd be far more chilled) but he did great, faster lap than me and everyone was chilled when they did overtake.