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See you there!
I am predicting that mud tyres will be required this weekend though. Awfully soggy driving through Houghton this evening!
It'll be muddy in those woods (and on that start loop in the lower field), it always is! Hopefully the main field near the pits will stay rideable.
Mind the cow poo! 🤢
It’ll be muddy in those woods (and on that start loop in the lower field), it always is!
Guess I'll fit the mud tyres then
Notts and Derby league at Shipley Park for my first race of the season tomorrow. Anyone else ridden there and able to comment on the course? Likely to be muddy after this rain?
I've ridden there loads. It can be an absolute mudbath but it won't be after the amount of rain we've had recently. Most likely to be fast running with the odd slippy section. It's largely smooth grass and there will be one or two serious climbs to contend with depending on how the course has been set out.
I'll be at Hoghton doing the usual course building this afternoon. Raking the woods clear is usually my job so will report back later (and the loam always turns into a swamp so you know the score anyway.....)
Actually looks dry for this afternoon / tomorrow, so I'd predict slighty less muddy but more sticky than normal.
Mud tyres as always.
I did my first cx race on 25 Aug. Tweedcross. It was probably the hottest day of my summer. I had a bottle in a seattube cage as there wasn't any portage but I was too on the limit to grab a drink from it. A erm colossal performance of 17th of 68 in the B race. I'd been riding 200,300,400,600km audaxs this year, the exact opposite of training for bouncing into the red for 55 minutes
Actually looks dry for this afternoon / tomorrow, so I’d predict slighty less muddy but more sticky than normal.
Mud tyres as always.
I suppose the forecast reasonable winds might dry it up a bit too?
All ready at Hoghton. Fields medium wet so probably grass and sticky mud (and some cow poop) rather than the sea of slop.
Testament to how wet last year was - this was the first time I've found fossilised ruts from the previous year still evident in the woods. I've raked us an extra soft new line on the last corner in the woods 🙂 then staying on the grass a bit longer to try and avoid covering the drive in filth.
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Nice one Mick. Must admit I don't normally enjoy Hoghton because it's usually the first one, so going to try and enjoy the course more tomorrow. Hard with the hill but has a good mixture of stuff. Might risk a bike change with an absent-minded 11yo manning the jetwash.
Yup the grassy drag of doom by the wall is still there, together with all the old favourites like the puncture rock in the bomb hole (claimed 2 people already).
Top field is slightly shorter as it doesn't go quite as far down the hill. Bottom field slightly different. Enjoy....
Back to the OP. My 19/20 Aims (in order of decreasing likeliness):
- Enjoy all the races
- Qualify for the nationals again (and maybe last more than 30 mins this time, possibly Pidcock dependent)
- Score a top 8 finish (after multiple 9ths last year . . .)
All ready at Hoghton. Fields medium wet so probably grass and sticky mud (and some cow poop) rather than the sea of slop.
Testament to how wet last year was – this was the first time I’ve found fossilised ruts from the previous year still evident in the woods. I’ve raked us an extra soft new line on the last corner in the woods 🙂 then staying on the grass a bit longer to try and avoid covering the drive in filth.
Ace. Hope you had time to polish the cobbles inside the barn too. They were excitingly slippery last year 😂
Weather's looking very un-cross like again, should be another good day for racing 🙂
Really enjoyed yesterdays course, thanks to all who helped make it possible. Lots of climbing and a dodgy root in the woods on the last corner made for some fun! 15th for me so pretty chuffed with that. Well done Dave on your first place! Small vid here of the seniors start lap.
Apologies for the root - last year we went the other side of the middle tree in your video, but that was much harder packed and didn't make a micro berm so no fun at all 🙂
Red Rose Colin did all the hard work, especially in the fields, with the new start loop working very well (first time I've not had a traffic jam entering the woods).
24th / top third which is about as good as I get. Well done to you fast guys - must have been a good race to watch with first four at 10 second gaps. Had a few chats with voodochris who had a go on an mtb and was already talking about buying faster tyres so hopefully see him again.
Marshalled the morning session of the NDCXL at Shipley Park yesterday, so just saw the kids races and Vets before we had to go. Was mostly dry and grassy apart from the damp rooty section through the trees. Lovely start to the season, whole range of riders from national level race whippets to pootlers in baggies on skinny tyred 26" MTBs. Also the first ever womens only race, which had a decent field across all the age categories, great to see.
[strong]mick_r[/strong] wrote:
Red Rose Colin did all the hard work, especially in the fields, with the new start loop working very well (first time I’ve not had a traffic jam entering the woods).
Yeah it worked really well and helped the flow a lot better than last year.
Pah Hoghton Tower, bleurgh, poo, rocks, and did rubbish.
The boy won U8 again though after binning it right in front of Mrs Mick_r as she marshalled, fought back and took the win.
So I took part in my first ever CX race at Hoghton Tower at the weekend. I manage to actually finish and didn’t come last which was pretty much the only positive. Can’t quite believe how fast the top guys are - I’m pretty sure I was lapped 3 times by the top 4 Seniors at least!
Wasn’t able to change gear at the start which left me playing catch-up from the very beginning. Went into the red zone way too early trying to make up ground on back markers and paid for it for the rest of the race. Plenty of lessons to be learned though.
Went into the red zone way too early trying to make up ground on back markers and paid for it for the rest of the race.
You're supposed to be in the red the entire time, there is no let up! Yesterdays heart rate chart, the threshold i think is on the downhill bits!
https://www.strava.com/activities/2687513388/heartrate
Lucky circumstances of the 2nd return flight from Armenia being 30 minutes early into LHR along with being straight through security and car pick up meant I was actually able to race the first round of the Welsh League. My wife was heading to spectate anyway so I asked her to bring my kit and tub wheels along then I met her there and rebuilt the bike from bike-packing mode to cx-race mode in the car park. Made sign-on by 20 minutes but doing on the day meant no gridding. Being honest, after 15 hours of travelling and 3 hours sleep I wasn’t going to be at my best anyway. Had a reasonable race/ride around but nothing in the tank to be having a proper go.
The course was a new one at Tredegar Park and it was brutally hard and bumpy in places. A bit of rain and it would’ve been superb. Really nice to be racing again and to see the familiar race faces.
I did my first cx race (East Kent) at the weekend and really enjoyed it.
I currently have 35mm WTB Crossboss tubeless on my Stans grail rims, but they seem really wide compared to everyone else.
I suspect I probably need narrower tyres for when it gets muddy - any recommendations for good value tubeless tyres?
I suspect I probably need narrower tyres for when it gets muddy – any recommendations for good value tubeless tyres?
I find the Vittoria range (XG, XM, XL etc, Non TNT) great for tubeless and happily run ~25psi.
I did the 2nd round of the Western CX league last weekend - bloody hell they're a fast crowd, by the 4 corner it was me and a couple of others trailing behind and by the end of the first 1/2 lap I was on my own for the whole race! I think I came 22/25 so not last which made my day, but still not great!
Entered in the Wessex CX race at Newbury this Sunday and hoping there's more of a spread of speeds so I have someone to race against! Not a massive fan of the fast dry courses so been doing rain dances although it appears to be staying dry on the current forecast!
Someone else poseted this previously...
https://www.mantel.com/uk/challenge-cross-limus-tlr-tyre?r=L3VrL2N5Y2xvY3Jvc3MtdHlyZXM/Z2NsaWQ9Q2p3S0NBand0dUxyQlJBbEVpd0FQVmNaQm9tQVRyRVJiSjEtcWdSbG5KTmMtTVBSTHhsLURKbjFpcER0SzRhdm9rM3g1V09LZFV1U1BSb0NrQTRRQXZEX0J3RSNzdGFydDE0
Limus are one of the default mud tyres..
First round of Supermarine evening/night cross entered. I have an ambition to not get lapped this year...however Katie Scott has entered (yeah, that's Katie with 199 national ranking points and 65 UCI points)...
There goes my ambition then!
I did the 2nd round of the Western CX league last weekend – bloody hell they’re a fast crowd, by the 4 corner it was me and a couple of others trailing behind and by the end of the first 1/2 lap I was on my own for the whole race! I think I came 22/25 so not last which made my day, but still not great!
I'm guessing I was one of the riders with you for the first half lap as I finished a couple of places ahead. There tends to be a bit more depth to the field in Western League in the races in and around Bristol.
I'm toying with the idea of trying a few West Midlands events as they look to have bigger fields. Anyone know if the course limits are often reached and non-league riders turned away?
I’m guessing I was one of the riders with you for the first half lap as I finished a couple of places ahead. There tends to be a bit more depth to the field in Western League in the races in and around Bristol.
Probably! Can't really make it down to Bristol as that'll make it a very long day!
I’m toying with the idea of trying a few West Midlands events as they look to have bigger fields. Anyone know if the course limits are often reached and non-league riders turned away?
I had the same thought, plus my Fiancee is studying in Birmingham so during uni term time it makes sense to race that direction. I messaged the league Facebook page and apparently they've not had to cap numbers in the past but league riders would get first priority if they did. bit annoying as I was sure I'd registered for all the localish leagues but seem to have missed that one!
First night cross in Supermarine wasn't too bad. Dry, dusty course meant it was fast in places, but sketchy grip in the corners (compounded by pine cones). After fumbling the first lap, I managed to get a flow in all the sections including the off camber spiral of doom.
My ambition was to not get lapped, didn't quite achieve that as I was lapped by the top 6, but that's a big improvement from previous years. Also managed to PR the strava segment for the course by a good amount. Even my slowest lap was only just slower than last years fastest lap.
Time to break out the big lights for next week - 300 lumens wasn't enough. Forgotten how good racing in the dark is - serenaded by owls in one section of the course 🙂
Aimming to do all 5 races this year, may even supplement it with a arse-kicking in the western league if timings work out.
Good luck everyone racing today...
Question for organisers... how do you construct the more durable netted barriers? Thinking about our course design and there is one section as I have it planned at the moment where riders come down a fast descent, there's a sharp turn, and just the other side of the turn is another section of track. I ca imagine riders sliding through the tape into oncoming traffic if they get it wrong so having a short section of catch netting type barrier might be prudent!
Awesome race yesterday at the Wessex league! I came in 55 out of 62 finishers (66 starters) which wasn't too bad - spent the almost the whole race fighting with the 50-54th place guys but they were just a bit too quick and I blew up on the final lap - great fun though to actually race people!
I raced Wessex yesterday as well. I do actually intend to do a few this season just to mix things up a bit in my training over winter. I 'just' managed to pull myself out of the bottom 1/3, which for my first race from my usual DH/Enduro background isn't so bad I guess. I will probably enjoy it more when its wet and muddy later in the year & I'm a bit fitter. It's very different to what I'm used to.
I think I may have also given myself heatstroke too. I guess if I can survive a flat and boring course in that much heat, maybe I can survive a few more 😆
Welsh league at Builth for me. Cracking course, a real mix, tarmac, grass, gravel, wooded semi singletrack. A couple of challenging offcambers and some steep drops, stairs and hurdles. Pretty hilly and very brutal. Just a shame there was no mud! My first race of the season, and having not really raced anything over the spring/summer it was a shock to the system. Position-wise it was a case of business as usual from last season, just outside the top 10, but it was a very small field (25 starters) and my lap times were not good compared to those ahead of me. Had great fun thougb as always.
how do you construct the more durable netted barriers?
Wooden posts every 2 or 3 metres with rope running tightly between them, then run the catch netting (max 1x1cm holes) along the lot and use tie wraps to attach it to both the ropes and posts.
Once you're done you can then just roll the whole lot up and re-use it next time.
Thanks @LS - for the catch netting do you just use the sort of scaff debris netting you can get on ebay/amazon (says 1mm holes)
Basically yes, the hole size doesn't matter so much as long as it's less than 1x1cm. That's the UCI spec and what you'll see at Trophies etc - stops handlebars poking through from one side to the other in case of crashes.
great, thanks. Makes sense re. hole size, also removes the chance of fingers getting stuck in and broken. Now just need to suggest it to our club and see what they say - looks like you culd make up a hundredd metres or so quite cheaply which is all that would be needed for the key risky areas.
Wessex yesterday for me too. I'd forgotten how draggy the grass is at that place. Felt sorry for my 4yo really struggling to keep his 16" wheels with extra knobbly tyres turning. I've promised him that Reading will be faster!
All the usual STW vet40 faces at Bolton today - especially that twinklydave and his evil muddy off-camber heckling whilst we all minced and slithered past like bambi 🙂
Struggled yesterday at Foxley in The Welsh League. Lack of any meaningful threshold training coupled with not a lot of sleep meant I popped after lap 3 I think and went backwards a lot of places. Hey ho.
Will see how this weekend at a new course out West goes.
Leverhulme for the NWCCA, felt loads better than the last round, collected some tape and got a bit slower as it went on, but the legs are coming back.
No.1 smashed the U8 again taking the win and No.2 had his best CX result ever in the U8 coming 9th.
Good race yesterday at Leverhulme, wasn't expecting that track to be so harsh on the bike, drivetrain was swamped.
That muddy off-camber bank was asking some questions - chaos on some laps. Watched the first lap of the seniors and the guy who won (orange Macc wheeler) was the only one to ride it clean, drilled it straight in straight out like a Boss.
guy who won (orange Macc wheeler) was the only one to ride it clean, drilled it straight in straight out like a Boss.
And there be the difference between winners and the rest of us mortals
Welsh league at Foxley for me, one of my favourite vneues. Did some practise laps in 23 degrees and dust on the saturday; crazy amount of rain overnight and it was a proper cross race by sunday. My skills, fitness and ambition were all a bit lacking, but it was great to be sliding around in the mud again. Less good was cleaning the bikes in the half light this morning before work! Should be another muddy one next weekend.
No.1 smashed the U8 again taking the win and No.2 had his best CX result ever in the U8 coming 9th.
Well done to them ! great stuff.
It was nice to have "proper cross" with mud yesterday in Horwich, but yeah, clogged drive train not far after the start. Felt really leggy still after the three peaks so struggled to hold on at the end of the last lap and lost a couple of places near the double humps. Should have avoided going for a 3 mile run on Saturday! As always a well organised event but I fear if it gets any busier in future parking will be a bit of an issue. Finished 21st so reasonably happy but need to stop myself from overdoing it during the week.
Matt from Macc did pretty well at the 3 peaks last weekend too, came in 9th!
Bolton is always a nightmare for parking (luckily we have to get there early for the youth race).
And Steve hasn't mentioned the very best bit for the kids - edible (biscuit) medals!!!
And Steve hasn’t mentioned the very best bit for the kids – edible (biscuit) medals!!!
Great idea! My little girl will be dissapointed as she cried off because of the rain! That said by the time I got home it turned out she had an ear infection 🙁
Anyone using vittoria terreno mix tubeless tyres? Wondering how they compare to other intermediates. I am a big fan of the terreno wets and the dries, and you can see they have been well designed, but looking at the mixes it looks like they've just drawn a pattern that looks a bit like a grifo without much thought. In particular the edge knob looks bizzare.
On the tyre subject, am I going to regret going for a set of bargain 31mm Vittoria XM tyres? Was looking for a set of 33mm tyres but at £13 a tyre (Planet X) I decided they were worth a punt for this weekends CCXL round which is looking likely to be on the muddier end of the spectrum!
I did look at a set of the Vittoria terreno mix tyres but decided they offered no big gains over the stock on Vittoria XG pros I have sat in the garage!
Half the time tyres seem to come up big so 31mm may well be over 33 anyway! Personally I don't think you could tell the differnece, some might even say they will fit into the ruts better!
Half the time tyres seem to come up big so 31mm may well be over 33 anyway! Personally I don’t think you could tell the differnece, some might even say they will fit into the ruts better!
Fair point, pretty sure the 33mm XG pros I'm currently running come in nearer 36mm on a 21mm internal rim!
Anyone else going to the CX in the city this weekend?
3rd round of the Swindon Supermarine night cross tonight - first time in anything other than bone dry conditions. Might mean there's actually some grip through the corners in the woods.
Well that didn't go so well... front wheel slid out on a fast corner and I hit the deck hard. Sat a recovered for a few minutes and did a quick concussion check with the race organiser.
Carried on but sore chest/shoulder meant I wasn't able to breathe deeply enough to put in 100% effort. Got lapped early and often by the fast boys, but made up a few places and didn't finish last!
Turns out I hit the ground hard enough to dent my helmet and write it off. Now shopping for new helmet and new tyres with a bit more grip than my Vittoria Cross XMs
Bad luck. Was it you that came off near the tree in the wiggly bit after the finish line?
The grass was quite slippy in places. I had a minor off, but fortunately it was on the bend before the steps, so I was about to get off the bike anyway.
Looking at the results, I think I must have passed you towards the end. I was in the yellow Oxonian kit.
I came off on the corner just before the start line at the end of the first full lap. Crossed the rough road part OK, but obviously overcooked it into the corner. Felt like it took ages to get back on the bike, but the lap times and Strava indicate it was about a minute.
I do remember you passing me - I did your club's 25TT earlier this year so the kit caught my eye.
new tyres with a bit more grip than my Vittoria Cross XMs
More grip? I've just replaced a set of Vittoria XG with these as was hoping theses would be the "more grip" tyre - not yet fitted so not too late to return but was planning on fitting after work! What you do find them lacking on? The tread looks reasonable but admittedly does lack much central sideways facing tread! Any suggestions for a cheap (as possible) mud/high grip tyre?
I was struggling with grip (or lack of) on the side knobs. I could feel them grabbing on the off-camber spiral of doom, but at any significant speed the front was sliding out. In addition to the first crash, the front wheel slid out again on another slippy grass corner.
I've gone for some Schwalbe x-One allrounds
I don't have tubeless wheels though, so I was running the Vittoria's at about 35-40PSI
I have some Vittoria Cross XL Pro's, bloody awful frankly. Loads of corner grip but terrible on anything but corners. I was also drawn in by PlanetX's cheapness for mud tyres. Currently using Donnelly PDX and they're fine so far.
Yep, I'll echo that comment on the XL Pros - I got up muddy banks better on a set of worn landcruisers! I wonder if XL pro front and XM pro rear would be a good combo or if it'll just end up in constant difts.
Donnelly PDX, yikes, looks good but that'll £70 for both! Might chuck up a wanted if the XMs don't sit well with me as I'll only get the price of one tyre back if returning (postage losses). I have tubeless rims and happily run low 30s psi so might see if I can lower that to 25-30psi to see how they cope.
Donnelly/Clement PDX or BOS tubeless ready versions - I have mine at 17/19psi on muddy days, on Crest rims, no problem at all.
You can run lower than that no prob - I start at 25psi tubeless and adjust up or down (and I'm large), so low 20s is quite doable for most. Sub20 can work but is a bit iffy IME as you're risking a belch at those low pressures.
Quite liked the cross XLs - they're an old model now which must be why the Rotherham jakeys are knocking them out. The centre knobs wear down rapidly, though, so if it's seen a bit of use you can soon have a baldy tyre on your hands.
Mud fest race advice needed- what are the essentials and extras I should take that I may not think of? Spare kit, clothes, towels etc
No jet wash 🙁
Second bike- worth taking and using/swapping? Can it be done alone or do you need an extra person for it to be worth it?
Leeds castle tomorrow!
So MK CX in the city was surprisingly dry and the XM pros were incredibly grippy! It took me a lap or two to get used to the grip but when being lapped I was able to keep with the fast guys on tubs through the corners. (Then dropped at an alarming rate when pedaling) I dropped to 26f 28r psi which felt about right. 24psi on the Front started to roll on the high speed sections.
Race felt good, had a bit of a stitch on lap 3-4 but this meant I had to be very careful with being to aggressive to recover was able to finish very strong and get past all the guys I'd been fighting. On the negative side I did break a spoke on my rear wheel so that spent 1/4 of the race annoying me before I stopped to bend it round a neighboring spoke. 77/101 riders so nice to not be in the bottom 5th!
Conditions at Leeds Castle for the London League were brilliant today, considering how wet it's been. Mostly all rideable (even on the SS), but that wall's a bastard. Nice off-camber sections with just enough grip to make it fun.
Much better than I was expecting - hated it the last time I raced there, but loved it today!
Big surprise to me too Mr L. Absolutely tipped down on my way there. Expected trench conditions but no! That wall seemed trickier this year and adding that dip to the lake and climb certainly brought the toughness level up a tad!
Another mud fest for the Welsh league. Out west this week, riding round a couple of sheep fields, but actually a cracking Course. Very muddy, but sloppy mud so no need for more than one bike. I've had a stinking cold the last few days and so wasn't going to race but couldn't resist it knowing the amount of mud that would be on offer. Took it steady and ended up 10th because of the small field (I guess everyone was watching the rugby). Great to be riding round slippery sloppy corners 🙂
We've dropped to 50 minutes rather than an hour this year, personally I wish it was an hour still
Glad you've had some muddy races for once 🙂
Also glad there was no local CX this weekend with the biblical rain in the NW. Minor road floods everywhere fed by water just oozing out of all the fields.
Next weekend is also a break from racing (but will be marshalling most of the time for the Westmorland National Trophy round). Anyone from here going to race?
I can't make it up to Cumbria next weekend, have a wedding on. Hope it goes well for everyone racing.
Do you know if they pull riders out of the v40 race on the 80% rule? Would like to race a trophy event but not if it's significant travel for two laps.
Dunno. Probably. I know they caused outrage the other year when they raced all the women together and started pulling most of the field based on the leading elite time.
Glad you’ve had some muddy races for once 🙂
@mick_r - think I guarenteed it by caving in after two dry seasons and buying filetreads 🙂
Weekend off next weekend for me as no welsh league race - probably to be spent re-cabling my bikes
Do you know if they pull riders out of the v40 race on the 80% rule? Would like to race a trophy event but not if it’s significant travel for two laps.
No they don't, in fact lapped riders in the vets/youths don't get pulled at all (the only exception is if you're just about to get lapped as the leader(s) enter the finish straight, you might get pulled over to allow them to sprint cleanly).
Thks LS, that is good to know. If I get a good bank of racing in over the next two months I'd like to try either the Pembrey or York trophy event.
I'm down for marshalling on Sunday at Westmorland all day. I just hope the weather is an improvement over this weekend!
Leeds Castle was great- my first muddy race, learnt a lot! Last lap was my fastest time so pleased with how I picked it up and picked lines better etc. The wall gave some flashbacks to three peaks though- imagine if it was this weekend like normal- the conditions 😅😅😅
@ferrals I enjoyed the Llandysul course too. Bit of variation. Had a spacky crash halfway through first lap though an otb’d into one of two hawthorn bushes on the course. Lots of scrapes and Mrs T’waife had to dig a half inch thorn out of my arse with a knife and tweezers before I bathed.
Oh and I’ve bought a terreno mix to put on the front for Pembrey. File tread rear for the Bynea course if it’s anything like last year.
I signed up sometime ago for the Lincs league and then promptly forgot about it while I dealt with having a cancer thing chopped out off my back (the not dangerous type, as it turned out thankfully). I've just realised that I've paid up to race the first one this coming weekend at sunny Scunny and haven't a clue what I'm doing, lol.
Other than turning up, falling off and coming last, any tips?
have you raced Scunny before superjohn71? if not its more a wooded single track course which drains very well,
I've never raced anywhere at all, I'm a complete newbie 🙂
seniors? vets? I'm there on Sunday as well (first ever cross race) although i have done the course before during the summer cross series for a couple of years, albeit on a mtb
its nearly 2 miles a lap, virtually flat, apart from a sandy hole you can descend into but have to lift out, bit tight in the woods for passing, but there is a couple of straights, ones 50 seconds ish, the other 30 seconds ish, nature of the course though, the gridding will determine the winner/top 10 as it starts on a double track and has a couple of pinch points in the first half which will mean anyone up front will be long gone as it bunches us behind,
course here
https://www.strava.com/activities/2501656838