[Closed] Gorrick Sunday 6th, who's racing ?

Minley is great, lots of natural singletrack makes it just good fun to ride round even if you aren't at the pointy end of racing, and with the weather dry and potentially even crisp underfoot as well..... it'll be like summer but with a coat on.

Racing with Elites in the mix is fabulous, you can play at trying to match them on the downhill sections and singletrack and wonder just how they manage to be so much faster (the uphill bits, i think we already know the answer). And much better at passing that the wannabe's who charge up behind you and then demand to be let past...... you sort of sense their presence, tell them you'll move over when you can, they say not to worry, and then with a quick 'on your left' they pass as if they were made of smoke and reappear 5 bike lengths in front of you before you even realise.

LOL i forsee quite a lot of that. Will try and use the Garmin to save me wasting a 1/2 lap at the end etc as it's only completed laps that count in the results. I was lapped/caught by the Elites (including Njee) back many years ago as they set off after our Cat.

including Njee

I think you'll be alright this year... 😉

i bet i wouldnt be if he turned up!

I'm in too, although I've gone for the 2 hour version. No less pain, just shorter lived! Really looking forward to it - I love Minley, and Gorrick races generally, they're always awesome fun! Devinci Atlas for me, decked out in new Redhill CC kit, feel free to wave as you pass...

Looking forward to, the trails were prime last round and weather has been reasonable. one of the fluro boompods

I'm in for the 2 🙂 I'll battle you for last. If i pass you, youre in trouble

Are Gorrick having a problem with access to other venues? All of the Brass Monkeys are at Minley...........

I'm tempted. Would be coming by train from London. Does arriving around 9.20am leave enough time to sign on? (early trains aren't convenient on Sundays..)

twowheels - I don't think there's entry on the day, so you'll need to pre-enter. Therefore, you should have enough time (assuming you mean arriving at the venue at 9:20), although I've no idea how far from the station it is!

Weeksy - you're on!

do I need sign on by today? or is it tomorrow?

Cheers bigdaddy. Yep, I meant turning up at the venue and already noticed entries close tomorrow noon.

I’m in for the 4 hours if my legs last that long! A few days ill over Christmas and then a terrible job of trying to make up lost mileage has left me a bit fatigued.

I think just going out steady and getting steadier is going to be the best tactic!

nearest station / easiest access would be Fleet, up Minley Road and then right onto the area just after Blackbushes Road, 0807 gets in 0904 and easily to the venue for starts around 10-ish

I now have the dilemma of racing with my 29 HT, the brakes have both developed the need for a bleed over xmas (respond to pumping thankfully) - or take the plus bike. Which has brakes. But will be slower.

Is Minley dry at the minute?!

I guess it doesn't matter too much. I am only trying to race myself fit rather than get anywhere near a podium.

Is Minley dry at the minute?!

Minley's pretty well always dry, unless it's been monsoon. Haven't been there myself for a few months but as a local, I've been on Ash, Tunnel and Porridge Pot over Christmas which are same terrain / soil and only 3 miles distant give or take, I'd suggest it'll be brilliant... and if it frosts as well between now and then i refer to my earlier comment - it'll be like summer but with a coat on.

torq in your sleep was held in heavy rain last year and even then the course held up really well, its a great all weather venue, might try make the final round

Thanks theotherjonv, this is the train I was planning but only to Farnborough as I didn't know if there was access from the east (better option).

I just RWGPS'ed it and it's 3km from Fleet and about 6.5km from Farnborough, plus the Fleet roads are much quieter

Thanks! (Sorry I meant west as you suggested looked the better option- tail end of a cold means I'm not thinking straight :))

Minley’s pretty well always dry, unless it’s been monsoon.

I raced it (at the tail end of 2014, I think) in a monsoon. Lap3 was definitely not fun. there was an area that had turned into a swamp. I still have nightmares to this day.

yep...that was the caveat I was referring to 😉

It was proper wet that day!

I almost clicked enter today for Sunday but didn't. The only racing I've ever done has been Brighton Big Dog, 3 times. Out of interest how do they compare.
Sorry OP for slight hijack of thread.

quite similar in feel, wrt types of riders, food tent and so on.

Not as tough (climbs not as severe / long).... point noted that it is racing however so you just hit the climbs faster and make is as hard anyway

Roots and well draining loam instead of roots and chalk/claggy mud

If you enjoyed Big Dog then do it, you won't regret it.

No apologies necessary

just been for a lap, definitely risk of dust.

I'll be there, 4 hours again, hopefully it'll be better than the last round. That won't be hard tbf, and I'll be onto the quick bike this time which should make it a bit less difficult.

I'll be watching at some point. As deanbfm has mentioned it's certainly very dry at the moment and assuming I followed the right tracks it's a good course.

Ok I am sold- just entered 2hr race. Will be riding a ghetto DIY repaired Chinese carbon 29er with cable-tied/taped rear brake hose and probably wear my yellow fluorescent commuter jacket 🙂 Also I will shoot off fast then blow up and finish last.

@theotherjonv - do you mean something like this after Blackbushes Road? (Not marked as bridleway or anything and I'm not familiar with that area)

Looking forward to it. Just need to recover from cold. My bike could use some TLC so I hope it survives!

Lol talk about a battle for last!

Two, you wanna use my large parkwood?

Haha yeah weeksy we should be more optimistic but somehow talking myself down gets me in the mood for having fun more 😀

Cheers for offering your Parkwood, very kind but I'd feel really bad if I crash and break something. Also I have morbid curiosity about pushing the Chiner.

pretty much yes, not even as far as you have drawn..... the usual event area is in the open area where your map has 'managed access' written. The road access for the event is from the north directly off the roundabout A327/B3013, straight down that access road.

There are roads (some tarmac, some gravel) all over the area, so just after BB Road turn on to the area and go NE, don't follow the bridleway but if you do you'll just end up the other side of the fields anyway

Thanks, sounds easy enough.

The usual Brass Monkeys car park/start is in the white area to the right of West Minley Fàrm, the Managed Access area is the camping area for Torq in Your Sleep.
Access for road traffic is on that short orange path right at the top.

but I’d feel really bad if I crash and break something

LOL it's a Parkwood, not a Yeti SB95 🙂

Who's tapering/changing riding etc then ? any point doing that at my level ? I've been changing my Zwifting in the past week, longer and easier rides being the key, rather than flat out intensity riding. I'm wondering if i should take today off though as i have an outdoor 3 hour ride planned Fri evening, i'll then not ride on Sat... But not sure at my level it actually makes any real difference anyway

My ‘taper’ involves not riding on Saturday as I would usually do! I’ll probably do a parkrun instead - my racing involves getting the body to the end in whatever condition it is in at the time!

Sweet, i think we're of the same logic. 🙂

Do shout hello on the day if you see me there guys.. I'll be more than up for a coffee and dirty hot-dog after 🙂

I'm in for 4 more hours of fun!
Not really tapering to any great extent as it is as much to add interest to winter training rather than purely to race.
As such did a high intensity session on Zwift last racing up the Alp, but probably will take it easy on the after work rides tonight and tomorrow.

Tapering? Just finished the Christmas cake, so yeah, i'm ready 🙂

I'm still debating on which bike to use.... I'm wondering if the fast rolling HT may suit the route and conditions better. But generally on more tech/bumpy riding i'm quicker on the T-130. Probably over-thinking things a bit. Would be nice if there was a secure pit area we could lock up a 2nd bike and swap between the 2.... I wouldn't mind a lap on both just to compare really.

Riding tonight on the 29er HT with a mate, may involve a beer or 3.

I'm in the same boat as you @weeksy. My debate is whether to risk a lack of brakes on the fast rolling HT or go with the plus wheels (and brakes)!

Either will be fine. It will likely be a bit lumpy rather than overly techy.

be a bit lumpy rather than overly techy

Oh, you're full of good news 😉

Ah, what I meant was, it will be fast, swoopy, full of techy root features, big bombholes, kickers, and liberally sprinkled with hero dust on every corner for max roost. 🙂

Ah now that sounds more like it... back runner but looking cool as hell then for me 🙂

Nah...not me this year....

The first and last round are on my kids' birthdays, and TBH, can't be faffed with everything going on at the moment...

Will come back to the racing scene for late 2019... Big Dog and Brass Monkeys high up on the list for "DrP and his singlespeed of lurve..."

Enjoy the racing folks

xx

DrP

Good, the rest of us SSers can all move up one place on Sunday ;o)

I'm out at least for another month I think - tendonitis.

Tapering?! I'll be happy to shake off my cold before Sunday 🙂

FYI for anyone else coming by train from London note that South Western have got a new year's sale on atm so you can get a return for £12 from their website instead of £18.

Ah bloody hell, turns out I won't be riding the quick bike. Got it out of storage and all the pivot bearings are seized, I suppose that's what comes from racing through floodwater. So I'll be on a Singular (geared and suspended) that weighs about as much as the sun.

I rode the Parkwood last night trail riding, first time outdoors on mud in a year on it, damn it rolls well. HTs really do seem to transfer the power well I have to say.

I'm so so torn now lol. I'm better technically on the FS but the HT flies. Roots though I think the FS will win. Errrrrm

No idea!

take both , do a practise lap , see ho rooty it is , decide on day . ta daaa.
£50 though .- when did riding round in circles become so expensiive

£50? Are you riding two races? ;o)

Yeah mine wasn't £50 lol it was £27

If I do a practice lap I may be dead for race. No practice for me.

umm maybe the £50 was for 3 rounds then ?
Could have sworn it was up around there, but I may be wrong
HT with fat tyres at 20psi would probably be faster around Minley.
Should stay dry at least , but it never gets very muddy there as the loamy soil and pine roots suck up alot of moisture

Well I turned up and met both Yak and twowheels for a chat. Did a 3/4 warm up and sighting lap and went racing.
In a very very loose sense of the term.

The course was good, most enjoyable. Off camber rooty bits, tight bits, fast bits. I could hold my own on the down bits and tech bits but as we'd expect, when it went up, I struggled a bit. Losing ground and then pulling it back on the guys and girls I was racing.

I'd set myself a target of maintaining 150bpm to ensure I made the time of 2 hours, but checking on Strava I seem to have averaged 163bpm oops.

I kept checking the clock as I was coming to the last part of lap 2, I was showing 1hr 21 on the Garmin, which meant I'd have needed lap 3 to be my quickest lap of the day for it to count, well that wasn't happening so I pulled the plug at the end of lap 2. Looking and thinking now, I did start the Garmin a smidgen early, so I'll be interested to see my lap time and whether it would be possible to have done the 3rd within the time. Either way, I'm happy I gave it a good shot and worked damn hard.

Tbh the only thing I can really take away from it is weight! I need to be considerably less weight if I want to move up the order. That's the grim reality of it.

But, I enjoyed myself anyway so thank you to STW for giving me the shove again to go out and race. Cheers

I loved it too! A great course, loads of fun and bone dry and loamy. The time limit adds a really challenging dilemma - I was bang on the half hour for laps 1 and 2, and dropped a minute or so on the 3rd. I was racing a guy for a lot of it, so we had a quick conversation as we crossed the line - to go for a 4th or not? We’d have to go 2 mins quicker than lap 3 to get in before the cut off. He said yes, let’s try it, so ensued a bonkers knackering time trial to try and make it. Sadly, we were 2mins40 too late, but it was fun trying.

I’m a bit broken now though! I love the time aspect of this racing, especially when you’re that close the cusp!

Nice chatting to you weeksy!

Perfect weather and nice dry course. Had a great time but my new stem (fitted Saturday) kept coming lose [idiot x1]. Also somehow I'd forgotten to unlock my forks from the road ride to Waterloo [idiot x2]. I did 3 laps in about 1hr40 I think, which I was quite pleased with considering the cold.

On the way home I decided to ride up some steps. Cleared them but dented rim and snake bite puncture [idiot x3]. My plan to was try doing a tubeless setup next weekend. Now I'm worried the dent will be trouble. Seems the method clamp or wrangling with adjustable spanner.

p.s. Good effort bigdaddy!

Sadly, we were 2mins40 too late, but it was fun trying.

I'd have sat down and cried! Top job fellss

https://www.strava.com/activities/2059248559/segments/51947805837 Strava shows I wasn't the slowest out there, which is good. 86/105.

But also shows I may have actually completed another within time, maybe

Told you it would be worth the effort. Gorrick boys and girls do a great job at this type of format on some great areas.

Good work weeksy. You did well given IMHO it was a course for 29er hard tails, apart from that bumpy bit across the field.

I forgot Strava. The top times (including padkinson's) are really impressive.

@theotherjonv - thanks for your encouragement and tip about entering after Blackbushes Road!

You did well given IMHO it was a course for 29er hard tails, apart from that bumpy bit across the field.

LOL don't say that, i left that one at home as you saw. 🙂 The T-130 was great though and worked really well, but that last hill before the finish i wished i had a 32T front on not a 34T i currently have !

http://www.timelaps.co.uk/assets/uploads/EVENTREPORT.aspx?eventid=442MinleyManorNorthEntrance06/01/2019

57/66 for me. Bit confused how the guys in 54th and 55th got lap 3 counting even though over 2 hours, I'd have stayed out if I thought it counted, admittedly it wouldn't have made much difference.

Great write ups well done all. Looking forward to the 27th...

I don't think the timelaps team have an algorithm that works for a 'short' enduro format (ie finish the lap by cut off rather than the lap you're on) and people want to see their full stats anyway.....they need to go through and amend manually and in the haste to get the results out understandably focus on adjusting at the sharp end first.

Well that was a lot better than the December edition for me. Actually doing some riding has helped, and borrowing the wife’s 29er FS was a nice bonus for my lower back after 3 hours+

Got my pacing much better this time, and finished strongish, but didn’t attempt a final lap as I would have been 3-4 mins too slow. Need to start a shade quicker!

Hopefully 3 weeks time will elevate me to the sharp end of mid pack, rather than clinging on!

It was upsetting, but at the same time great fun - the guy right behind me agreed to jointly give the 4th lap a go, and it became a crazy ‘give it everything’ time trial. I kinda knew we probably wouldn’t make it, but I like those kind of challenges!

Finished 15th, would’ve jumped to 8th if I’d made that last lap 🙄 Well done everyone, see you all next time!

Not sure the finances stretch to that one here. Good luck to all who go!

Great course again, but a duff ride for me. Felt bad at the start, crashed on lap 1, then ran out of go on lap 2 and stopped early for a sausage bap. Mrs Yak had a decent ride and came 3rd again in her race. Good to catch up with weeksy briefly.

@ weeksy - what do you weigh in at? Are you one of the big fella's at Black Mountain 3 dayer a few years back?

Yup, that was a lot of fun - 2nd place 4hr SS.

But had a similar experience to bigdaddy - I'd been lapping at about 33/34 mins with the 3rd place guy behind me, so when we finished our 6th lap with 35m to go we stopped. Then about 3 mins later 4th place comes through and keeps going! I'd already taken my helmet and gloves off! The head said there was no way he'd make it, but it still didn't stop us from tearing off after him for what was probably the most enjoyable lap.

Came in about 20secs behind him and 2 mins outside the cut. 2nd place safe and got a full 4hrs racing in :o)

@ weeksy – what do you weigh in at? Are you one of the big fella’s at Black Mountain 3 dayer a few years back?

15st currently. Not massive by any means, comfortable 36" waist etc, but clearly 15st ain't 13st by a long stretch. It's something I need to get back working on, the 5-2 begins again tomorrow. In Feb I got to 14st 3 and that or below is my strict target for when Southern XC starts in April or so.

All that said, I just don't think I'm as good as the faster guys all round. Hey ho.

Not aware of that event so nope, wasn't me.

okay - I'm about the same, 15 and a bit, 36 inch waist, 47 inch chest. The constant little climbs kill me too, although I have a fair bit of power. I could lose 5 or so kg's but still a long way off the 70 kg whippets

wasn't there today as got virus diseasy thing from hell.......

Big turn out from the club (TCC) today and a win for Oli in the 2hr. Oli concentrated on road racing last season and got his Elite license. This was his mtb return. Others were very well placed too including some first time mtb racers. I went for a long road loop over the Chilterns, not having raced off road for a while. Might come for the next one though. Gorricks are always superb fun.

Well done all who rode. Surprisingly warm and dry today.

4 laps for me, in the 3hr grand get category - if I had gone a shade quicker on the 4 then could have possibly squeezed a 5th - doubtful really as I was stuffed. Over dressed in a softshell jacket, so next time will wear less. As others have said, great course, atmosphere, organisation and general friendly vibe - bring on rd3.

yeah another good fun course and event and once again unseasonably good weather!
Didn't quite have the legs today (maybe should have tapered more 🙂 ) so lost the lead group early on. Plodded round in no-mans land, not quite being able to close the gap on those in front.
Went out for an 8th lap (even though from lap 3 I knew I wouldn't squeeze it in) and finished 5 mins after the cut-off. Still all good training and managed 5th place.

@john_l yeh that last lap broke me today crawled up that long gravelly climb but still enjoyed the challenge. What gearing where you running?