Do you race ? If so... why ? If not... why not ?

I compete (pointlessly) in another team sport. Our team is never going to win much - we're solidly on the 4th division nationally and at the last big tournament we were the lowest ranked team but somehow still finished ahead of where we started. The difference is that our team generally play to stay (not very) fit, the leading teams get (ridiculously) fit to play.

Bike racing has never appealed though - I'm not averse to trying to ride stuff faster, or to tackle things outside my comfort zone but I prefer to choose when I do that rather than being compelled to perform on a given day.

Very rarely - generally only if it means its the only way to ride those trails.

I'm overly competitive. Unless you're on the top step of the podium, you're just another failure and I don't need another stick to beat myself with that I'm fat/lazy/stupid/shit/delete as appropriate. Add a load of stress to that and its just a nice day out ruined by riding yer bike.

I generally ride to get away from people. Queuing up to ride a trail one at a time, or having the good bits blocked by some divot in front who can't ride is the anithesis of that. With very few exceptions there's little of interest in the trade areas, I'm not interested in eating overpriced crap and the music/festival/whatever scene can do one.

You don't get much actual riding done. First time I went to the Golfy I managed to pick a race weekend. So entered. Rode 5 trails, twice across the 2 days. If I go solo, I do 10 or more different ones a day. Or Steelcity - 2 practice runs, 2 race runs. Less than 6 minutes riding across a whole day. I'd rather marshal and at least add value.

Then add in entry fees and all the travel and the camping and the crap that goes with it. When I've got great trails on the doorstep...

My Megavalanche experience sums it quite neatly. I didn't do it 3 times. First year I broke my wrist. Got some more riding done in the cast but had to retire from the quali. Second year I'd trained my arse off before hand - got knocked down a crevasse a minute into the quali and totalled my rear mech - scooted down. Did a timed run after the main mens race (Mega Affinity?) and was 11th fastest. 3rd year, pinchflatted in quali (on fireroad!!); fixed it and rode myself inside out only to finish 2 places short of getting into the slowcoach mass start. Each time I was out there for a week and did some great riding in an amazing location, but each time I couldn't see the week as anything but an expensive failure as I'd not achieved the basic target of getting into the main mass start race.

I ride because it's fun.  I've done a few events (Polaris, Strathpuffer x 6, other stuff) but I don't really enjoy racing as there's no fun in it for me.  I do enjoy watching it though.

Never tried it and have no real interest. Not competitive in that way and prefer riding alone or in a small group for fun.

I don't race because it's not why I ride a bike

I used to, a lot. Was never really good but I had some amazing times, EWS rounds and kinlochleven madness and just good times travelling around and riding stuff I'd have never done. Enduro was basically right for me at the right time, it also shaped my riding tons and was generally good for me.

Now, I think I don't. Entered the Dunkeld enduro, had to drop out fairly early with an old injury but tbh I wasn't that bummed, it was already seeming like a lot of money to ride stuff in a way I wouldn't have normally, and I wasn't feeling the benefits really. But at the same time I felt sort of constrained, in a way that definitely wasn't actually true- what I should have done was just said nah, I'm not racing, I'm just going to ride and have fun but I felt like I had a number board on so I HAD to race as hard as I could, and I wouldn't have enjoyed anything else- which is stupid but, there you go, brains are weird.

Same person, same trails, but just time has passed and my head's not where it was. I couldn't say why, it's probably a lot of things.

I'll still do occasional mates stuff- I can see me doing the glentress seven again if/when it returns, just because it's a good time (and we usually blag a free entry anyway).

This. Its all about the ride, maaaaannnn.

✌️

Do you race ? If so… why ? If not… why not ?

No.

Mainly because I played cricket to a decent level and grew very jaded with actually playing - for many reasons, but including the fact that I started to find it embarrassing what people would condone in the name of 'competition'. Personal abuse, cheating, going on and on at people with the aim of putting them off their game.

As I was falling out of love with cricket I was really starting to enjoy riding - I didn’t want to bring any element of competition into it. Now, it is not so much an aversion to 'competition' as acknowledging that there is no need to court it.

Raced Mtb as a teenager in the 90s. Generally a bit shit compared to the quick kids but enjoyed the challenge of new courses and variety. Even dabbled in a bit of trailquest with my dad despite never owning a Marin full sus. Eventually beer and clubbing took over and racing took a back seat despite never stopping cycling as a hobby.

After a long hiatus I had a couple of years dabbling in triathlon around 2015 as a challenge to myself to get fitter and do something new. Didn’t factor in how shit at swimming or running I am but it was fun and bike splits were ok.

Family commitments made that more difficult so didn’t race again till after the covid years when I thought I’d try and do a season of CX. Now firmly a back of the lack bimbler but enjoyed something different and being humbled but much better riders.

I could add a bit of Zwift racing in there somewhere.

Basically a lifetime of giving it a good try because I love the feeling of racing and it pushes me harder than I’d otherwise ride, but never being that good.

I did a bunch of DH back in the RAV4, early SDA era & was pretty mid-pack at nationals.  Then I moved to the Midlands for a decade & went car racing. Back surrounded by mountains again, no race car, and I've done the puffer a couple of times, the GT7 & other bits & bobs.

I need to do the puffer solo again as I know I'm capable of more. It's not racing other people that interests me now, it's racing the track/stopwatch & bettering myself.

There is a strange attraction though to slogging up a fire road at 4am, on sheet ice being deafened by hardhouse & blinded by strobe lights 😂

I think most successful MTBers (& any other sport) come from areas good for training, if you're not, the time & financial commitment is a significant disadvantage.

think most successful MTBers (& any other sport) come from areas good for training, if you’re not, the time & financial commitment is a significant disadvantage.

Yeah funny you say that lol. We've discussed moving house.

Crazy, maybe.

I've started doing the club 10 mile TT if I'm not needed to marshall. I am consistently the slowest male.

Only competing with myself, but getting slightly less slow each week, and learning new things

Do you race ? If so… why ? If not… why not ?

Nah. My easy-going nature masks a fairly competitive spirit, and I'm just not good enough to enjoy competing and being shit. It's not a matter of "I'll only play if I win" - being midpack would be a giggle, but being mediocre is just no fun.

being midpack would be a giggle, but being mediocre is just no fun

It can be hard, like a bit disheartening at times yes. But I mostly race the course, not the riders. The courses are interesting enough and challenging enough that anything else is a bonus

I don't race. Mebbee could as I think I'm fairly punchy, but that's not why I ride. Nowt to prove to anybody really; I just love being out and about and farting around. Preferably on my own.

Race against myself really.

Age isn’t a barrier. It’s an excuse. 😉

Ok scotroutes - old enough to know better 🙂

I race Enduro’s ccasionally, but usually only venues that can only be ridden when participating in the race.
I’m not really interested I competing, I’d much rather enjoy a ride for fun with some mates, it’s just an opportunity to ride somewhere different.

@MoreCashThanDash  - getting into TTing will sort out your username, one way or another!

I miss the days of doing the full UKGE national series

I'm never going to win, lucky if I finish halfway down the field, but I still love it, a big loop with trails you can't normally ride and good friends, there's a nice racing community

There's definitely something about focusing as hard as you can to get one tough descent just right.

It just pushes me to improve & test myself the way I never do on a non race ride, even on the same trails.

Getting the most you can out of yourself and your bike

And the thing I love about enduro is that you get time on the transitions to mess with mates and stop to take in the view

I'll do maybe 3 races a year now, but they have to be challenging ones, to make it worth the cost (financially and time away from the family)

I used to do road races and crits, doing just about any race I could reasonably easily get to. Absolutely loved getting stuck in, learning how to ride the bunch and occasionally even getting the chance to use some tactics. I wasn't very good, but still got a couple of ok results. I had a bit of a revelation that you don't need to cross the line first to 'win' and that really upped my enjoyment. I had to give up for health reasons and I do miss it sometimes - I kind of wish we had a race scene like New Zealand where there's tons of unlicensed road racing and you can just choose a challenge level to suit you.

I still follow a training plan, but that's mostly just because I enjoy doing intervals for their own sake.

Racing is a great excuse for owning a ridiculous amount of tyres.

It’s nice to challenge myself, mostly be mid pack with the occasional decent result with a few terrible results.
It’ll keep me out the pub, so that’s the entry paid (Most Enduro races cost roughly a night out). It was also a huge motivator to stop smoking.

Pretty much everything Kimbers said too.

Nope. I'm a hyper-competitive mentalist, so racing really stresses me out.

I could never do a race in the past without giving absolutely 110% and completely destroying myself. I was seen apparently turning 'grey' as I crossed a finish line once - while my vision was fading in on itself like a tunnel. I used to race as a junior and was pretty good at it, regularly placing top five and was selected to represent my county multiple times in the cross-country (running) Nationals.

At some point, however, I simply realised I just wasn't enjoying any of it at all. There's some weird peer pressure or group expectation thing - that if you are I really committed to being good at something - then of course you absolutely have to race. I just realised I enjoyed the training - on my own - so that's what I kept up with.

Fast forward 25 years or so and in my 40s I now have paroximal atrial fibrulation, so any form of high-intensity exercise is pretty much off the cards . I pootle about the place somewhat slower than I used to and find I actually enjoy my running and cycling a lot more now.

I short, I don't actually believe racing is all that healthy (nor the competitive mindset that goes with it).

Or "Expensive and ultimately pointless" - as someone above quite brilliantly put it 😂

But I mostly race the course, not the riders.

So why pay to "compete" when by your own admission you're not really competing to win? Just go for a ride.

I don't. I grew up really enjoying team sports and played to a good standard. I was super competitive but to the point that I'd sooner have a great game and lose than a crap one and win.

Weirdly I'm not sure that would work the same on a bike. I know i'm not a 'proper' cyclist and although I have my moments the mates I ride with push a lot harder and have time to dedicate to racing preparation and fitness... and the money to spend.

However, my kids have shown no interest in team sports so I haven't found myself following them around football grounds like my parents did. They're reaching racing age now and are interested, so I think there's a chance we'll give it a try - they can race 2-4 years out of the minimum age and so feel no pressure to do well.

The cost puts me off as a lot of the races where we are involve long drives and overnight stays. I only have hardtails so gravity enduro will be interesting.

I used to - even when there was a kid - but I got fed up with always coming 30% of the way down the field so I told myself I wouldn't until I lost enough weight to be decent. I did lose some weight, but I thought I'd lose more so didn't enter, then I put it all back on again after the second kid. That was 12 years ago.

I've done a few triathlons just out of curiousity and to capitalise on the fact I can actually swim alright. But I vowed I'd only do off-road ones with interesting courses, and there aren't many of those so it's a one-a-year effort, and that's mostly for the sake of the trip away. Last year I went to Aviemore for three days for a 2hr race 🙂

So why pay to “compete” when by your own admission you’re not really competing to win? Just go for a ride.

Well, when it's a race you can rag everything flat out in a way you can't when there might be people, dogs, kids etc on the trails.

I don't race and have no interest in it. I ride to get out in nature and away from large groups of people. Yes it's fun to ride fast and to challenge myself on harder trails and find the limits in all sorts of ways, but I don't need an organised event to do that.

I used to chat to racing mates about this. Once you've done some degree of training, you are about as good as you're going to get. Sure you can improve slightly but essentially whatever we tried we'd always be roughly in the same place in the field.

Now when I turned 40 this was fighting for the podium at London League cx, however the usual winner Steve was always 2mins ahead of me, so essentially in another league to me. I got 13  podiums in two years I think but never stood on the top step.

It was a fun and wild few years but gradually the training and stress wore me down to the point where I hated racing. So I stopped. It wasn't easy, felt defined by my abilities but I gradually weaned myself off my dependence. Getting into race promotion was a real balm and after putting on our club race at Sommerhill a few times I realised that I loved this more than the actual peddling and still got to see everyone.

5 years later I've got into running. Turns out I'm reasonably quick (17.46 parkrun pb so far), but I'm very cautious about where I take it. I love the feeling of fitness and power, adore the structure of training, and enjoy working with others in a group to get the best out of myself. So to this end racing may figure again. However I've set personal challenges as my main goals. The simple target of 'can I cruise through the landscape all day at a reasonable pace?' is an alluring goal and worthy of a lot of work. If I use ultramarathons to help with the logistics of this then fine, but I'm wary of chasing times. I don't wear any data devices and run purely on feel. An occasional parkrun shows my progress but once again my pb has only come down 30seconds in the two years I've been doing it. I actually spend more time helping out at parkruns. All the laughs, none of the stress, one big happy family at my local event.

Getting older (now approaching 50) has its benefits. I've made peace with myself and I'm not defined by my results. Friendships are friendships regardless. They'd be piss poor if they were dependent on a number.

I look at Trainerroad forum quite often and think what a neurotic bunch of people they are, obsessing over every detail and arguing all the time about definitions and protocols etc. It's clear that training can be as addictive as any class A drug.

I don't look down on them. I used to be exactly like that. But I do feel relief that I escaped.

All my experience has been on the endurance side of things. I tried an enduro once but all the waiting around ruined my flow and frustrated me.

No.  I don’t need another commitment in my life.  Racing is time consuming and can be expensive.  I have neither spare time nor spare money.

So why pay to “compete” when by your own admission you’re not really competing to win? Just go for a ride.

Many of the race events are on private land.. So can't be ridden outside of race time.

Racing the course may have been taken out of context, it's the desire to complete said course rather than just pedalling round. The courses are to me, tricky, so it's putting me in a scenario where i can push boundaries, limits, skills etc.

Used to race XC, the odd marathon and 10-Under type stuff (not with any hope of winning). Did it for pretty much the same reasons as listed by the OP. Largely stopped when I had a kid: just no time to train, travel, etc.

1. Since then, this type of racing has been dying a slow death, while enduro has taken off. Would love to have a go at enduro (it's the type of riding I mostly do these days), but the lack of training time kills any such ambition in the crib. You can cut corners when training for XC by improving your fitness by means other than mountain biking. However, for enduro, there's no substitute for riding your bike a lot on steep, tough terrain. Time to do this will always be at a premium for me.

No!

Raced one evening xc event with mates - came dead last and because I never saw them again after the start it wasn’t a laugh; felt like s**t.

Did a PMBA enduro - had male riders bearing down on me during practice forcing me to repeatedly jump off the trail and never getting into the flow; sat in the van after practice feeling like s***t and didn’t do race.

Did an orienteering event with a friend who was a GB running orienteer. Dropped my dibber and had to go back and find it; felt like s**t.

None of those experiences lead to an enjoyable relaxing ride. Just busy with loads of other people and feeling very stressed. I am competitive but I’ve made a decision to not make my leisure time competitive (I used to play a lot of tennis when I was younger, so know what the commitment is like); my job does more than enough of that in my life. I like riding to see the scenery, eat cake and get away from people.

get away from people

To be fair, if you're a really good racer or a really bad one you can do this in a race too 🙂

I do about 5 races a year . I started after having our first child as having a date in the diary was handy to keep me motivated to keep some semblance of fitness and it gave me 2 days of riding . This turned into me doing a couple of the tweedlove enduros , dunkeld , pmba at kirroughtree and fair city enduro . I'm very much a back marker but the racing for me has been about being fit enough to finish and trying to improve my riding to be able to ride the stages ok, it keeps me riding and going to the gym in winter so when racing comes round I'm able to enjoy it  .

None of my riding mates are into it so I've always gone on my own and you always end up chatting to someone as for the most part every one is pretty friendly and you have at least one thing in common.

It is getting pretty pricey though once you add in the cost of petrol or a hotel if you need it but I always felt I got my money's worth , except for possibly the EWS . I did the 80 the first year it came back to the tweed valley and although I enjoyed it I did feel like it wasn't worth 3 times the price of a tweedlove event .

I did the 80 the first year it came back to the tweed valley and although I enjoyed it I did feel like it wasn’t worth 3 times the price of a tweedlove event

That's an interesting one for me as potentially next year we'll end up at an EWS80/100 (i need to work out which he can do at 15 next year). Well it's either that or an IXS DH round or French DH... something Euro anyway along with the usual UK rounds.

On another tangent, but events is something I struggle to enter. They are often quite expensive and you have to commit to the date when potentially you may travel quite a distance to ride in atrocious weather on trails you could otherwise ride outside of the event.

This is probably why all my riding is from the front door when it's not wet.

BMCR and TLI road races up until about this time last year, a second broken collarone on the left side has left me pretty wary of going over on it again. So just enjoying my riding at the moment, still love the training (mostly!) but without the commitment of racing it's nice to take a day off here and there.

That said I've pre-entered some local night races, hoping these will tie me over. As much as I miss them I don't miss the getting up and loading the car etc. every Sunday morning, and I get my Saturdays back!

Not anymore ,but loved it back in the day(90s-2000s), raced XC,CX and road.
The national events were(at the time) an nice escape from London at weekends.
There was a great crowd around the XC scene then, and I have made some life long friends.
I also really liked the personal challenge of getting faster and testing myself physically (and mentally)in a race.
It can become quite an addiction 😉 😆
Got a few decent results,but often the best and most enjoyable racing wasn't at the pointy end,but when trying to catch/stay in front of riders I knew.
A bit like being in a Squash ladder,when the person above and below you in the ladder are so well matched,you really have to be on top form ,and every move counts.
I would always tell people to have a go at racing,you will never really know until you pin a number on. 👍 😃

I’ve not really touched a bike properly in 5+ years and I’m now in the process of selling everything off as there’s no point hanging on to it.

This has made me really sad

I've done a few races, XC and 24hr and if I'm honest hated every moment of it. I much prefer to ride solo or with a few mates and be able to stop and enjoy the view or a chat as we ride along.

Of course, in road racing, you have the incentive to make that once in a lifetime transition to Cat 3. I think that’s quite a cool idea in a way. Even when I’m old and grey I’ll still be able to tell the yoof’s that I’m a Cat 3 👴🏻 🤣
An eternal reminder of that two year obsession.

I wouldn’t say British Cycling are particularly good at fostering the enthusiasm of hobbyist racers though. Other countries seem (via social media at least) to be better at making people feel special for having the racing craic regardless of their ability.

@rOcKeTdOg

Don't be sad! 🙂

I've just moved on. I tried getting back into it a few times but I'd do 2 or 3 rides and the spark just wasn't there anymore.

But I spent 25+ years cycling all over the country and doing tens of 1000's of miles. Not bad for someone who bough one of these 'new fangled' mountain bikes back in 1990 on a whim from Kays catalogue! The wife went crazy at the time (we'd only recently got married and were skint!).

I'm getting great pleasure doing long walks with the dog now.

Not officially any more, dabbled in CX and XC most recently but not really fit enough to enjoy the more explosive racing, I spend the whole hour just holding on and not really enjoying the actual riding or racing.

The last couple of CX races in particular just became solo slogs once the pack strung out.

I enjoy longer distance 'events' and sportives as they suit my fitness and training better and also feel less like a whole lot of traveling for 1 hour of pain, e.g. was glad to travel 3hrs to the Lakes for a gravel sportive. They might not be racing as such but there is still a competitive motivation which always makes me ride harder, chasing groups, subtly trying to drop people on climbs etc. 😎

Would fancy trying some longer gravel events whether sportives or actual races, possibly something for next year.

Ok I'll bite.     I've always been competitive, and turned to cycling after being too broken for Rugby any more.    Racing for me gives me the reason, commitment and focus to stay fit, at a lower weight and healthy - well with the exception I broke another finger last night 😀

I go through ups and downs, but ultimately having a reason to stay fit suits my nature and I enjoy being part of the race scene.  I'm not shy of saying that the lure of social riding, plus cold beers and the sofa in the evening in lieu of Training is getting ever more attractive, but I also know how uncomfortable I feel whenever I have time off to do that - I'd need a balance.

With my eldest now qualifying for National level Tri events, and my daughter at County level for Swimming I can see a time nearing where time and money defers to them and my own racing takes a backseat, but even so I'll find a way to keep Kryton C Nesbitt at bay.

I dont agree with the view that if you aren't winning you're just some kind of loser.  Staying fit, healthy and improving yourself even if its only yourself you're improving against is winning at life to me however you achieve it whether that's racing or just being able to enjoy a decent ride out with your mates.  Each to their own.

I've done a few enduro's for fun but I'm faster in practice when there's less pressure (not fast fast..). That said, I am really glad I've done them, it makes for a really great weekend with your mates.

These days, I'm happy just to enjoy riding my bikes. My plan was to go back to arranging some away days such as Bike Parks and Scotland but life keeps getting in the way. I guess the Enduro's work because you book them in a long time in advance so we all keep those weekends free.

Better planning on my part required!

Erm yes,

Enduro because it's a laugh riding trails faster than you really ought to between tape, just not on a very competitive level.  I might actually train and prepare one of these days, but I fear that raising expectation of any result would take the fun out of it. I'm quite happy being a few places below the M50 podium rather than missing out on a step by a handful of seconds. Achievement without high levels of success is my personal key to low stress enjoyment!

I'll usually do one of the Maxiavalanche races, just not this year due to family scheduling. Mass start gravity races are really good fun, the Maxi series have a bit less of the bucket list attraction than the Mega itself meaning less of the ladz (sorry ladz, but you know what I mean)  and I'm gutted that I missed Vallnord last weekend.

I'll probably do the amateur race at Loudenvielle this year with my daughter.  It's the first year she's moved up out of the kids races, but she'll have higher expectations than myself. @weeksy FYI she's a 2008 and as I understand it, the ews100 is no more and everyone does the 80.

yep i enjoy them, sometimes. tend to meet decent friendly folk.

ardmoors, really didnt want to ride all week, lower back had been aching, and been taken to cleaners at the pmba graithwaite. went up for the race without practise, although ridden a few times in the past couple of years.

so a bit of imposter syndrome to start, should i be here, am i good enough to keep out the way of the fast guys.

had a good clean run on stage 1 . felt good after that..

made the mistake thinking stage5 is simple so didnt watch the youtubes , for some reason i was thinking it was a stage at kirroughtree. so missed the first corner.  a stupid run off on s6, knocked me down

midpack and top 40% in age , but cam ehome on  a high..

AE forest next week. aim for mid table i should think

To be fair, if you’re a really good racer or a really bad one you can do this in a race too

Or a completely average one, like I was! My problem in XC racing was I was a good starter, but after the 1st lap I'd completely blow up... spend the 2nd lap all on my own almost puking up and losing most of the places I'd gained in the first lap.. then I'd recover and get into my rhythm.. but by then the first 25-30 had disappeared into the distance and I was left overtaking a few stragglers before the finish. When I'd drop dead again. Then have to spend the next week recovering!
Enduro was different, I just crashed all the time 😆

I register and turn up to a few but that doesn't mean I'm racing (perhaps).

Reasons ?
Its expensive... I'm paying as someone else said to ride somewhere I don't usually get the chance. (Hence Miland)
It's a day out with mates (was really nice to do a few stages with you)... I did a couple with some other mates but a bit pointless in some ways other than social when I was riding the HT and they were on £10,000+ ebikes. (Nod was better for that as there are some stages the HT will piss all over the unrestricted ones)

I usually prefer to camp ... just dilutes the costs making it into a 2 day thing but 3-4 hours... so that also influences which ones I do.

At the cost I allow 3 or maybe 4 a year and try and make sure it's somewhere new or similar.

@stevextc sounds like this weekend at Tiverton is right up your street. We're camping Sat night, BBQ, beers, banter. Tracks look sweepy swoppy ferny.

I've raced a bit, on and off when I was younger. did a couple of longer events, the then Schwinn 100 in Builth, and a mountain mayhem once.

early days I was very much of the opinion that it's not worth it if I can't give my best. I was never racing in any significant category despite being relatively fit, so only raced when I felt good.

I was probably at my fittest maybe 17 or so years ago, but I quickly realised that I am not competitive, at all. and that's the crux of it.

it's nice to be fast when you're fast, not so much to beat your mates, but to get that felling of flying along a trail, barely able to keep traction, keeping on pushing, and pushing. I watched Nino last weekend and it reminded me of how that feels, just to be able to keep pushing, not even the ground can interrupt your focus. (not that I was every anywhere near Nino's speed!)

I sometimes get the ghost of that, along a trail, everything comes together and you're on rails, powered by someone elses engine.

however, racing against folk for the win, I'd love to have done that, but I haven't got the mentality for it and just ride for myself.

Having spent every weekend from the age of five until my mid twenty's racing MX and Enduros I don't race any more.
I got pretty high up the ladder with sponsorship from Yamaha GB doing British championships in the pro class and also some European rounds and represented the GB team a few times at the ISDE.
Then I slowly realised that I'd never be able to make a living at it and that I was never going to be able to beat full on pros who didn't work.
Having to work for a living and miss out on so many other things in life to be able to race just didn't seem worth it any more so I stopped and started riding MTB's just for shits and giggles.

I'd never want to ruin riding my MTB by racing in the way that racing MX and Enduros ruined my fun of riding offroad bikes.

Mates have tried to tempt me into doing some enduros but I just don't see the point.
Not enough riding and too much waiting around for me. Then there's the whole aspect of traveling up and down the country which doesn't sit right with me any more either.
I'd much rather meet up with mates and ride unrestricted from start times and waiting around.

Staying fit, healthy and improving yourself even if its only yourself you’re improving against is winning at life to me however you achieve it whether that’s racing or just being able to enjoy a decent ride out with your mates.

Yep. This is why I do that one "event" per year, though it might just be some sort of challenge that I set myself  (like doing the Cairngorm Loop in less than 40 hrs or riding all of NCN78 in less than 24 hrs). TBH it's also making more sense the older I get, just to try to stave off the inevitable.

No - I mostly prefer riding on my own, for leisure rather than to win.  A nice view, peace, solitude, working out where to go, all much more fun to me that getting repeatedly lapped by much fitter and more technically able riders.  I've done a couple of sportifs and whilst I quite enjoyed the atmosphere especially the closed road ones, but my times make clear I definitely was not racing!

I don't race... yet...

After going from 16.5 stone in 2018 to 23 stone by end of 2022 due to poor diet, no excercise and too much beer I'm still carrying too much weight to really handle any 2500ft and 25 mile enduro races, max I've done this year is 17 miles with 1800ft before I bonked out. I'd like to be able to handle 2500ft and 25 miles and still feel like I've got enough in the bank otherwise I'm asking for a bad crash at the final stage.

Not to say this wont change over the next few years though

Do I race, yes. Why?

Well because I enjoy it, I've always been competitive from footie and athletics at school, then I took up fishing, had a go at a match, kinda got hooked, pardon the pun and then match fished from the age of 12 right up to my early twenties until the usual things like women, beer and cars put a stop to that. I did well, very well to be fair, regularly winning junior level stuff, competing with the adults, fishing big opens, regional champs and at National level up to Division 1. I then got into it again in my early 30's about the same time as I started riding bikes, naturally I was fishing matches again, doing well, picking up money pretty much every time I fished but it was starting to get expensive and I lost the will to do it.

Then came the bikes, I started off as just owning one for riding round the woods nearby, after a couple of years and an awful lot fitter and a fair chunk lighter, my then mate suggested I have a go in a local XC race with him, I was crap but I enjoyed it and I was bitten. I got fitter, I raced more, I got fitter, I was doing better, I even managed a couple of XC podiums. Then this 24hr thing caught my attention, initially as part of a team which just didn't suit me as there were other people to make a mess of things, I'm fine with me messing things up, but if others who commit to a team don't commit in the same way it doesn't to well with me if I'm honest. So soloing it was, I did alright, I never won anything, but I came bloody close and had a podium or two and big events. But it was taking up too much time, the training, the prep, the events themselves.

I tried pairs a couple of times. went rather well, more podium visits, then that scene pretty much died on it's arse to back to XC, a few years older and not as fast, I do alright, I can muster a mid-pack finish and occasionally end up inside the top 10 if the course suits me. I enjoy it , it keeps me fit and it's a nice scene.

My eldest is really into it, so I'm now racing as he's racing, I'm there so I might as well enter the old duffers later on in the day and be constantly heckled by him and his increasingly fast mates and we have a  great time.

CX is the same, I've done a few seasons, scrape top 20, have a laugh, but the kids love it.

I used to race XC back in the 90's as a 13 YO kid. I was crap but as it turns out I made some lifelong friends because of it.

I raced Enduro for a few of years from 2012 to 2016 but my fitness went down, amount of time to ride went down, disposable income went down, tracks got harder, other riders got better and I couldn't keep up so just lost enthusiasm.

I also did some 24 hr racing which was great fun but the vibe kind of disappeared, especially at Mountain Mayhem.

We had our 1st child in 2015 so that definitely marked the end of racing. I'm 45 now, still OK on a bike but no intention to race again at all mostly due to other priorities and it's a lot of money to shell out to prop up the bottom of the results sheet.

Got into mtb bitd for xc racing as much as riding but drifted away from it in my late teens / the early 90s. Then did the early Kona/Merida 100s as challenge rides, trained to get to 6hr finishes after being ruined by the first one!

Raced multi-day stuff a bit in my mid-late 30s, enough to itch itches and be happy with what I got out of it, no feelings of unfinished business etc. Haven't had any urge to race since. I think it's because I don't like my rides or how to spend time being dictated to me? So unless a ride/race is particularly inspiring or motivating the only reason I'd be there is for the social and there's events that cater for that better than timed races.

We had our 1st child in 2015 so that definitely marked the end of racing. I’m 45 now, still OK on a bike but no intention to race again at all mostly due to other priorities and it’s a lot of money to shell out to prop up the bottom of the results sheet.

I really dont get the chance to train ,  4 kids means Ill never be as competitive as I might have been, I still like the challenge, Im racing myself & the trail as much as other people

No, once I start adding any form of measurement to my riding I lose the fun aspect I’m after.
i don’t mind chasing mates down something or the mighty ‘stick game’ on a jump but once I add an official racing element or Strava, etc it’s not fun anymore.

apart from the Megavalanche. I bloody love that race.

Weirdly, in that context, I don't use Strava. Well maybe once a year. But racing outdoors and on Zwift gives me enough timed stuff

I do - xc and I love it. Not especially fast, but have a few good results and I've won one race in my life! I am pretty competitive and love pushing myself hard. I subscribe to the view that the finishing position doesn't matter a jot - the reality is that I'm racing myself and pushing as hard as I can and see where i end up, and I love doing that. Been racing the Gorricks for 25 years, and positions haven't changed much in that time! You get to ride great courses without walkers and dogs etc and get a proper lung busting workout. Atmosphere is universally great too with like minded people.

I used to Time Trial with the occasional road race thrown in. Was at a decent level but stopped when work and kids made it difficult to get the hours in riding to perform at that level.

Bigdaddy has highlighted one of the attractions of racing between the tapes. You can assume the course will be free from walkers or dogs.

I remember a particular corner at a southern xc where I knew I could take a blind corner at full speed because there was a rut on the exit to catch me. I wouldn't do that on public land but that day I loved the feeling of launching into the unknown without worrying about hitting anyone.

Did a race last year, first time in years. Definitely went way faster than I normally would but not into the business of the whole event. I'd rather go on a 'normal' day and ride when it's quieter with a few mates and just enjoy the trails and hang out.

apart from the Megavalanche. I bloody love that race

in a rare moment of form/luck I once found myself having qualified for a front row start in the challengers, bang in the centre.
That’s basically the Goldilocks start for a middle aged weekend warrior. Any faster and I’d have been stuck at the back in the main event.

Looking down the Ski slope, then back to the hundreds of riders behind, Alarma!
Something I’ll never forget.
I even stayed upright until I failed to make the corner, completely misjudging my speed into the right hander.

Still, only a few weeks to the next one.

You go so fast down that snow. The first time I did in 07 I’d never skied so hadn’t seen anything that steep. My little bro and I could barely traverse it to get to the start line.

we both thought ‘how hard can it be to go down in a straight line?’ 500m later I was untwisting my bars and looking for the peak of my helmet and he was trying to figure out if he could ride the rest of the course with no front brake on his hardtail!

Yeah, it looks really slow on video in a group, as you’re all falling at roughly the same speed, I was amazed how hard I hit the snow bank.

Bigdaddy has highlighted one of the attractions of racing between the tapes. You can assume the course will be free from walkers or dogs.

That’s really interesting to me. Where I am in Oz most race events are at places we can ride 7 days a week for free. They’re also very quiet outside the major population centres so I know i can go full beans whenever I feel like it. I rarely consider that anyone else will be on track.

ride the rest of the course with no front brake on his hardtail!

Always fancied doing the Mega on a Hardtail. The Qually race it would be a real disadvantage though.

TBH, the point for me was when the prize money for a win was barely enough to cover the entry and fuel to get to and from the event. Even if it was only 20 miles down the road.

When i started getting regular top 10 finishes in national events i could guarantee that even a 10th would get me (give or take) enough to cover my entry, and a win would (probably) cover my costs for the weekend.

Then it got progressively worse, races got shorter and less interesting, prices went up (sometimes nearly doubling) and prizes went to shit. Even a win would only cover entry fee plus 20 quid over.

The final straw was a national event (nearly 30 quid to enter) where i got 30 quids worth of wheelies vouchers for 3rd and my team mate got 50 for the win... they'd also cut race distance while we were gridding up and removed a section of the course that someone had spannered themselves on. Someone who wasn't even involved in the event, just someone riding round the course.

Haven't "raced" since.

My mate finished the season, and hasn't raced since either.