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As per the title really. I'm in solo again, bringing the Rallon this time, and was wondering if anyone else on here is riding.
I think that Northwind is.
If I manage to finish work today in reasonable time I will be there, riding solo on a KTM Scarp Sonic. Here's hoping the forecasted rain stays away a little longer than expected.
I'm in! Racing mixed pairs for a bit of a laugh - hoping for a top 5 result but as my partner's doing it to have a go I'm not expecting anything and intend to ride it for fun.
If you see a lad looking like this on a light blue Trek hardtail trundling by you, give us a wave.
Here’s hoping the forecasted rain stays away a little longer than expected.
Definitely agree on that, and not only because I just put an Ikon on the rear!
Will do munrobiker, possibly as you pass me several times.
I was meant to be going up to ride solo but last minute change of plans mean I'm now not. So I've got a free entry if anyone wants it? I'll email the ticket over. You will have to race as my name but you will be able to race
If you want it send a mail to andywoodmtb@gmail.com
Yeah riding solo after my riding partner had to pull out last minute and I couldnt persuade anyone to stand in for him. Was solo in 2015,16 and 17 and pairs last year. Thought might as well just go for it rather than not racing at all. Fitness is fine more the thought of that final descent several times over makes my wrists and arms ache just thinking about it!
I'm doing it as a trio for one of the event sponsors teams. Slight setback in that one of our team members apparently broke his arm 2 days ago so we've drafted in a much slower replacement..
Can anyone (ie non riders) enter the area where the pits/beer tent etc are or are they charging to gain entry to that bit?
of that final descent several times over makes my wrists and arms ache just thinking about it!
I've done it once before back in 2013 and I can't remember any descents being remotely rough. Is it far more technical than it was? I hope not as ive been on an mtb about 5 times in the last 18 months.
It's not overly technical just very rooty and bumpy final bit which takes its toll after 1 descent never mind a few (for me anyway)
I’ve done it once before back in 2013 and I can’t remember any descents being remotely rough. Is it far more technical than it was? I hope not as ive been on an mtb about 5 times in the last 18 months.
I did it last year and thought the descent was pretty technical in parts, by the standards of these multi-lap xc events - loved it, great course. Big up and down made for a hard event - remember being completely ironed out by the last lap.
Best not to force the descent on lap one IMHO - even if you're fast off the start it'll still be quite busy, so just get your eye in with it even if this means sitting in in places. You can straighten shit out next lap when it's thinned a bit.
The descent is also broken up by a couple of flattish fire road sections where you can pass slower riders, or if you're a good descender you can bury yourself here to get a good position going into the singletrack.
I'm doing it with a mate. I'll either be on my Bird Zero 29, with inappropriate tyres until it rains then they'll be perfect or my old Ti456 which will be faster uphill but less fun pointing down. Actually the Bird is only a week old so the old bike probably won't even leave the van.
how can you have inappropriate tyres for Glentress?
and can we follow live timing online anywhere? I have a morning of footy and an afternoon of milf avoidance to deal with at the School spring fair.
Mon the Fool!!
Tyred Jr is, as a pair with his mate.
As youths, they're used to smashing round courses full gas knowing they're not racing much beyond an hour so it'll be interesting to see how they get on tomorrow. There's been some eye-opening discussions in the last week around nutrition for a race like this, he was surprised that one banana and two Nature Valley bars (well, it is a long race) might not be enough.
Slightly sad I'm not riding - was in last year but broke my neck just before it - but couldn't make the logistics work this year. Next time.
Far too grippy. I'm hoping for buckets of rain.
I'm riding as a pair, after a fairly hopeless attempt at solo last year.
Spent all week looking after my ill son and can't decide if I am ill also or just terrible week long pre race nervers.
I don't know why I do this to myself, it's been 27 years of asking myself this. Sigh. Pre race motivator I am not.
Sounds like performance anxiety. Myself my only care is whether i'm going to get absolutely drenched later on and if I should drive or cycle from my house. Can't be bothered cycling home as a wet mop!
Mrs 100th is riding in a trio. Just for fun. They've all got big bouncy bikes so won't be fast. I'm pit crew/ dog walker because I've got to be there in case, even though I've got to walk three dogs.
What's with the pessimism about the weather? It's not meant to be that bad is it..about 50% chance of rain after 3pm no?
Oh yes definitely pre race anxiety. Despite it being 10 mins ride from the front door have just spent the most stressful hour packing dog, children and camping stuff as oldest had a melt down last week about not camping plus gives partner somewhere to be with said dog and children.
I shall be the worried looking one, stone times with worried looking white dog!
Rains started now, deep dust at the moment, may be interesting in a couple or three hours.
Mon team too much grip!
@stevenmenmuir rode passed me earlier he was really struggling, way to grippy.
Rain's on now it's no braw sitting waiting.
I was supposed to be soloing again but it'd have been a waste of time just now, not even sure I could make the distance.
Did we all enjoy ourselves?
Bit of a shock for me - my "not that fit" (her words) teammate pulled a blinder - we were in 5th, which would've been amazing, then by 1pm we were 4th. On my last lap I passed the guy in 3rd. My teammate went out again, then he followed rather than just teammate. He was consistently lapping 3 minutes faster than her, she set off 4 minutes ahead and he knew we'd passed. My teammate absolutely gunned it and we got the podium by 90 seconds. Felt very sorry for the other pair but the racing was exciting. Mixed pairs is tough these days (Tracy Moseley was doing it FFS!)
Feeling pretty burst now- that is a brutal course in terms of the amount of climbing and the low level roughness of the descents.
It went pretty well for me. I managed 7 laps solo which I'm very happy with. Made it back in 2 minutes before the final lap cut off but there was no way I was doing another one!!
It seemed like there was a lot of competition and some very talented riders at the sharp end of things.
I'm burst. We did 7 laps, I managed 4. We had time to do an 8th but were both struggling with cramp. Seemed quieter than the last time I did it but I've not done it for years. Even on the first lap I was getting a fairly clear run on the descents. Expected bottle necks at the tunnel of love and the bomb hole but not so.
7 laps. Glad i did the last one despite the rain. Got pretty greasy towards the end of the day. Also had a fair few relatively minor falls but some due to fatigue. Still think I paced about as well as I could for my current fitness. Might do some proper training at some point in my life.
Milfs are not to be avoided geex.
Well that was alot tougher than i expected! All those roadie miles this year, and on the road im far faster than I was when I last did gt7 4 years ago, but I didn't feel any faster today. Felt like a completely different type of fitness is involved, the course gave absolutely no chance to recover and I was in the red from start to finish every single lap.
Didn't help I've done about 5 mtb rides all this year, and none on anything remotely technical. Descended like a clown, and when the rain started falling the off camper roots at the end were particularly hard. I've never felt so out of control on a bike as i did on the final greasy rooty descent today (and ive ridden world cup dh courses). it was almost comical. Riding when in the red, on xc tyres, is far harder than I remember.
Great fun however I may put my xc racing aspirations for later in the year on hold as on that showing I'd embarrass myself.
No tpb it was just very tough! I've been riding enduro the last year but when I'm that fatigued with such greasy roots any little mistake is punished fairly severely. For me it's xc fitness that would have helped more yesterday as enduro or road, which I also do quite a bit of, doesn't set you up for the very physical mix of concentration and endurance required. Great training ride though from my POV!
I didn't think the rain was heavy enough to have much affect but I wasn't out for the last hour. The dusty blown out corners were much trickier.
Tpbiker- I'd not take the GT7 as an indicator of your suitability for other XC races. I think you were on about doing the SXC at Lochore- that will be a totally different kettle of fish, probably more suited to your style. Higher paced, less red liney and less technical. You should go and try it.
The GT7 course was challenging- there was nowhere to catch your breath, no flat bits where you could slam it in a high gear and recover your breath. Add to that the fact that the descents all came at the end, so if you were in a team the recovery didn't help, and weren't technical but were rough and you've got a very physical race. My average speed compared to 10 Under the Ben was an entire mile an hour down, despite racing for just over half the time.
I did slow down on the roots on my last lap- most were fine but it only takes one to have you off. Otherwise the descents were fast. One guy, I think from the Glentress Hotel, got grumpy with me when I passed him on the climb to Horse Trail, saying I was wasting my time as he'd only pass me on the descent. I think people don't realise that XC racers are bloody handy downhill, the guy that won U30 solo was faster than me. Pretty satisfied that I didn't see this guy again.
Lol that sounds like a mid-race grump MB 😂 I didn't witness anyone saying silly things to one another although one of the fast Kelso wheeler lads attempted a pass down the inside of the wide rooty corner near the top and almost took me out. Was thinking afterwards that's maybe a normal move in xc but he just had to ask me to move over as he was way faster than me! No apologies either. Just wonder if that's actually a normal move in xc?
Did anyone see the fight? Apparently there were two lads throwing proper punches on the course, with a marshal nearby.
Lol - sounds like the guy munrobiker passed was spoiling for one!
A real genuine fight?? Holy moly. I had thought it was generally one of the most chilled out races I've done, especially considering how many fast guys were there. The atmosphere down at the transfer area was great.
Speedstar- which rooty corner are we talking about? In the tunnel if love or on zoom or bust? The tunnel of love descent was a good passing place, wide and safe but in zoom or bust there wasn't anywhere safe to pass without the slower rider actively pulling over.
Yeah, apparently, one of Mrs 100th's teammates came round a corner and a bike was on the ground with two blokes lamping each other. She counted it as two overtakes.
Well that was fun, enjoyed the first six laps and then when the rain started I remembered last years broken ribs at the bomb hole so I slowed right down and didn't have the time, or to be frank the inclination, for a ninth lap. Came across what looked like the aftermath of the fight, two sulky looking guys pushing their bikes, not sure what the reasons were but I don't think they were competing for the podium! Apologies to everyone that heard me out on the course, rear suspension pivot bearings decided to play up and I creaked my way round 6 and half hours of racing, most folk suggested the noise came from my knees, I told them that I am not 50 until next year...
I skipped it last year so I’d forgotten how much I dislike that last descent, which is a shame as the rest of it is great. It’s the steep second part where having to be on the brakes a lot, at least if your me, locks up the arms so by the last lap they’re knackered.
My main problem with the rain was it meant I got a bit cold on lap 6 and the head went so I slacked off and settled for 7 laps. Given how bad my legs felt on the first lap though I was pretty pleased with that.
I did have one slightly sketchy overtaking manoeuvre by dint of not noticing some tape when trying to take the high line on the last descent, so apologies if that was anyone here.
And as ever the marshals were fantastic. Lots of encouragement and cheering which really helps.
Yeah, apparently, one of Mrs 100th’s teammates came round a corner and a bike was on the ground with two blokes lamping each other. She counted it as two overtakes.
I rounded a corner and there were 2 folks just stopped bang in middle of the trail having a conversation. Didn't know if they were arguing however having gone round them I pointed out they should move to the side, and was told to piss off. Nobbers. Other than that great atmosphere.
I can't believe someone managed to ride the route in 33 min..that's just insanely quick. What kind of times were folk managing yesterday? I think my fastest was officially 45.50 or something like that, with the others 46.10 and 48 something (after it had started raining). Which was pretty shit, although I think only about 10 folks overtook me all day.
I got round in about 40 minutes and I've never been overtaken so much at a race.
It would be amusing if the fight is visible on Strava flyby in absence of actual footage
I got round in about 40 minutes and I’ve never been overtaken so much at a race.
Really? That's a bit weird. On my second lap only 2 people passed me the entire time, both on the down hill bits at the end. Had same experience last time I rode it. Passed numerous more folk than passed me but still well down overall when it came to lap times. That said those that did pass me were going significantly faster!
I reckon I could have taken 2 or 3 min off my times if I could descend better. But the only place I actually felt comfortable the entire time was on the fire roads, and there wasn't that much of that.
Lol an actual fight??
I got sideswiped by some dude coming across the exit bridge from the start who had clearly decided to a) try and overtake on the inside where there was just about room for one cyclist at the time, b) not shout or not shout loud enough to be heard and then c) throw an absolute rage after I asked him what on earth he was doing when he could have just waited another 5 seconds or so and passed safely! He had the look of someone who didn't almost seem able to recognise there were other riders on the course instead of him. Actual fisticuffs is taking things way too far though 😀
Munrobiker - it was on the wide, rooty left-hander that you had to slow right down for on zoom or bust. Thought it was an interesting place to pass. Think the guy must have assumed because he was inside he was going to be quicker but not only did he almost take me out, he also come to a complete stop!
I was passed lots on the climbs but most of the time I wasn't really aware of it. One guy passed me before magic mushroom but then told me to go first because he was a roadie and didn't want to hold me up. I hope I didn't pass anybody to close on the descents, pretty sure I gave a clear shout but in the heat of battle.... I'll happily wait, I'm not going to be bothering the podium but sometimes when you've got the momentum it's hard not to try and pass in a hurry. There was one occasion after the bomb hole when I was closing on somebody pretty quickly but I just had to haul on the anchors as there wasn't room, the roots after were a real pain if you had to drop your speed.
Speedstar- I thought it would be there. It isn't a safe place to pass, unless you had told him to and stopped.
It all seems terribly frantic racing for 30th place 😉
Just at the end of the pits area before the turn up to the lodges I passed two guys who looked to be at the end of a massive argument at the very least. Plenty of shouting and swearing and the one whose bike was on the floor shouting "221B you're (swear)ing disqualified" as the other one cycled away past a confused looking marshall. That's probably the wrong number so don't go looking it up on roots and rain!
Was a bit of a shock considering how chilled it's all supposed to be. Lord knows what the actual incident that caused it was.
Depends how slow they are and how fast you are, there's plenty room.
Meikle_partans - yeah that was the one. I was just cruising across the bridge and went to turn up the slight left off it when out of nowhere someone just came mashing into me from my left. I got knocked right off my bike then the other rider started screaming at me to "get out of the f***** way." I would have accepted an apology as a simple racing incident but he started screaming at me that I needed to respect faster riders and get out of their way.
If I was someone who had in some way tried to block him passing me in some kind of racing action then it would be handbags at dawn but this guy was clearly smashing past someone not going at his pace, in a place there was no room to pass and I had absolutely no warning before he rammed into me. His head might have been down or was tired but the tirade he let go at me when I was just mincing along at my own pace out of the start zone was insane. The marshal and the spectators were telling me to take a break and asking if I was ok but I was just a bit shocked at both the incident but more so his behaviour tbh. Took me a good while to stop shaking afterwards.
Daughter #1 (15) did it as a mixed pair with a pal and their team came 9th. I was quietly impressed as you can imagine.
Its her first real year as an MTBer (we've always done it for fun and giggles, but road was her 'thing') and she's loving it. She didn't get a practice lap in as we weren't down in time, and had been slightly alarmed by other riders advising her to watch the scary downhill. After her first lap, she announced that it was obviously just an XC course and she was enjoying herself 🙂
She did their last lap and scraped in 30 secs before the close.
Speedstar - did you ask the marshalls if they did anything in the end? Like I said I didn't see the actual incident but saw enough to infer that he had caused something and you had caught the brunt of it.
Nah didn't want to continue things further. Actually just wanted to get back to the riding! Just wasn't in the spirit of it all but maybe some folk when they get the racing head on...
Great event. Managed 6 laps. Second year I've done it. Be doing it again for sure.
Wtaf ^ I can't believe there are such utter knob ends in existence. Who genuinely gives that much of a toss about a minor local race to act that way. Well done on keeping your cool..I'd have been trying to pick a fight if I experienced that.
Worst i experienced was a couple of faster riders firing up behind me on some very tight singletrack and just shouting 'rider' or the like. No idea where they expected me to go, if you want me to let you pass at least give me an indication of which side you are going to pass on. I'm not going to just pull over at the side of the trail and let you past. Other than that it was all very chilled, and a great atmosphere.
The couple of laps I managed before crashing out I noticed that the faster riders seemed much less polite than previous years. I did 4 laps as part of a duo last year and only had a moan at one rider on my last lap who mumbled ‘rider’ as he shouldered me out of the way. This year it seemed like every other of the fast folks were just barging past without shouting at all and with no regard for whether there was room. I’m just thankful no-one was in a position to overtake me on the descents (even after I tried to remodel the bomb hole with my head, #humblebrag) or it could have been messy.
4th time for me this year , I normally manage 6 but settled for 5 this year , felt a bit flat on the day but still enjoyed it .
I do 5 or 6 enduros a year and am not very good at it so get passed a fair few times and can honestly say no one has ever got wound up by having to get past me whereas on Saturday a few and it is only a few did kind of annoy me . I can appreciate if your really challenging for the top it is probably easy to get a red mist on but I seem to remember reading something by Jason miles along the lines of being decent to the back markers as without those guys paying entry fees there won't be events to enter .
Still a great day and I will be back next year .