You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
https://southernenduro.co.uk/events/southern-enduro-mashup-2-qecp-bike-park
Well, it's time to start seeing what the boy has in the tank and there's no better way than going racing of course.
So it's the Southern Enduro at Queen Elizabeth Country Park for me and him in May.
It'll be the biggest race for him of his short time and in some ways a step up for me as i've only raced XC... So potentially a bit trickier !
Can't wait now !
Anyone who's good on trail knowledge fancy helping out and showing us around please ? We got lost last time we were there, plus had a brake mechanical so bailed early. I've only ridden it once properly, so some knowledge would be excellent.
If needed i'm sure we can rule bend before we're fully allowed out.... it's semi-local, ish... sorta.
That looks tempting
Good man. I think it'll be a good intro for the boy. Not sure my wallet approves but hey, we've pressed it now
That is the Mash Up rather than one of the race series so should be an easier introduction. I’m hoping it’s like the old Day & Night stages as they were fun
I've never done an enduro so sounds like a good intro.
I'm in!
Nice to get back into enduro racing again!
DrP
I think this one is mainly using parts of the Blue & Red trail network as opposed to the other trails which are definitely only there for races and never used outside of them, honestly! 😜
Whatever it uses, be prepared for a fair bit of slogging back up to the top on the transitions.
Booked. First ever MTB race. Let's see how slow I really am.
Well if it's based on power you'll be fine! I have bugger all idea what you're like on a moving bike though.
Training afternoons before it down there then guys?
There's a phrase about power and control, can't quite remember the details...
I'll be ok on the ups, shame those aren't the timed bits. Should have had a decent number of recent runs on the red and blue by May.
How jumpy are these events? I am edging towards minimal air time nowadays
I’ll be ok on the ups, shame those aren’t the timed bits
You are in luck, this is SE England and the downhills involve plenty of pedalling
How jumpy are these events?
I bet 50p there will be no compulsory air at the Mash Up linked above.
I'd be up for meeting up a few hours before....
DrP
I thinking meeting several times before that weekend!
weeksy - just replied to your email. Yeah I would be up for a ride beforehand. From the 29th March a 6person group ride is good anyway I think.
Being on the red/blue it will be easier than the other enduros and the climb up is fine.
I am quite interested in this, but another noob question (having only done xc races before) - do you need full face for enduro?
I'll be heading their to practice on the first Wednesday I can after the 29th.
If you can make it 4pm Nixie me and my lad are in!
do you need full face for enduro?
not sure about this one but normally no, i tend to not bother in pratice but wear full face in the race. the only race i've done that was compulsury full face was macavalnche.
I'm booked in for this looking forward to it.
Sadly I'll need to be home by 2.30 to make School pickup. Will be heading out in the morning after doing drop offs.
If it's anything like the old day & night, which it looks like, then some of the steeper stuff off the backside off the park will be used. We did race parts of the main trail centre loop, but Scott managed to mix it up & you would have off piste sections in the middle, riding down climbs etc, so you might not get a great feel for where you will be going, but nevertheless learning to ride on either the QE chalky mud or dry marbles is a skill anyway. Permanent anti-grip. 🙂
Don't think a full-face will be a requirement i did one of the QE mashup events a couple of years ago and didn't need one. Might be up for this too plus some pre event rides if it's an open invitation.
Yeah i'm not looking for a full on race layout. But just trying to get more of an idea of what sort of things we'll find. I think it's more likely to be me and the other parent rather than the boys who find ourselves out of our depth on anything, they just hit things and fly... no thought, no fear, "whoosh", so i'm not too worried.
The other good thing is, it's all fun, it's all pedals, all riding, so will be a good few days out somewhere.
We've both been there as he used to do coaching there, i've ridden there when he's being taught, but i wouldn't say i know it very well at all.
I and my son are entered now. Looking forward to it - should be fun!
Nice one matey... You'll have to drag him out when we're going testing 😀
Looking forward to it lots and lots.
Looks like it could be fun.
Will do weeksy. He loves it there anyway and we haven't been there since before lockdown so we are both keen to get back.
We may be in a bit of trouble here. My lad got mullered by a cricket ball last night in the knee and i had to carry the silly sod up to bed he was in that much pain. He's slept in a knee brace and has a load of ice packs... But with not that long to go i'm thinking the race may be in trouble for us !
I'm really hoping he's managed to recover some movememnt and we can realistically see him back on the bike...
Time to get your race face on :D. I'm 'preparing' with beer and takeaway curry. Going to make all the difference..
I'm going to prepare with red wine, fishcakes and Run DMC. Pre-race EDL 🙂
I saw the forecast of rain in the morning and panicked. Wild Enduros back on rather than the Nobby Nic and Rock Razor.
Don’t see @weeksy on the start list, did you have to pull out weeksy?
Fraid so mate, the boy spannered his knee and Scott the organiser kindly refunded us as he wouldn't be able to ride.... Sadly it now transpires that he WOULD have been able to ride.... Sheesh.
Good that his knee is sorted, shame to miss the race but there will be others
Good luck to all attending, have a great time!
Sorry to hear that your lad wont be able to make it though weeksy, sounds like Sods Law in action there.
That is unfortunate. Oh well, it’ll be a bit manky. I’ve got full muds on, (Wardens) which is either a great move or a terrible move.
At least the rain is supposed to stop before it starts. I've got one set of tyres so that's what's fitted 😆. I'll be on a raw bird aether with lots of orange bits and yellow helmet. Wave as you pass 👍.
I’ll be there too, no 26 on the start list. Does anyone know what kind of mud they have down there? Sandy, clay, something else?
Don’t worry about the mud, nothing claggy if it even gets that muddy. I reckon on plenty of roots and some chalk
Sounds good, thanks!
Think I'm sporting #2 (though am #1 on the list).
Good luck all!!!!
23rd in fun. Did 9 runs in the end and I'm stuffed. Very consistent on my run times.
I am far too unfit/lazy for stages 1 & 2 but loved 3. Only did six runs, minimum to get a time, and would have liked to do stage 3 again but I needed to get away and the queue was long. Happy enough with 8th in the old gits class (over 50s men) given my lack of talent. I’m no racer but it was nice to do an event after so long
I managed 7th in fun and ended the day with a “one last run” OTB head/tree incident on stage 3 which somehow also managed to loose my top cap.
8 runs in total, fish and chips refilling in petersfield afterwards. Great day!
9th in fun male and 7th for my son in u14s. All good fun, especially stage 3.
It did feel good to put a number on again. I think it was a southern xc in 2019 before this.
Anyway, we both really enjoyed it.
Edit: 20th and 9th on roots and rain.
Well done all. I think fitness was making up for lack of talent in stages 1&2 for me. No way to hide on stage 3 though!
The Mud tyres were a terrible idea. Managed to swap the front for a Hillbilly after pinging down stage 2.
18th in the Vets on my Hardtail. Or tenth in Hardtail if they had put me in the right category.
Stage 3 was brilliant, only got two goes on it and had traffic from two riders on one run.
Binned it at the start of stage one after daring to go near a root.
Yeah it dried up well considering the rain in the morning.....but the roots were slick early on. I went with wild enduros front and rear, ditching the aggressor that was on the back before.
Really fun race.
Have some 2 year old well loved tyres on which I'd left on as the race was going to be on the trail centre so thought would be fast. Couldn't be bothered to change them then it rained. As it turned out the tracks dried quickly but first run down each stage was pretty wild.
Got 11 runs in but only 2 on stage 3 as the queue was so long I couldn't be bothered to wait.
Great atmosphere even with the restrictions, and was nice to be out chatting to people again. I really like the mashup format,Can't wait for next one.
My lad and his best mates first race yesterday. I surprised them and joined in, mainly because I was worried how they'd fair in the conditions. They both loved it! No proper bins, and managed to complete all their stages plus 1 extra S3. Think I'm going to be taking them to a few more races in future!
I would have liked to have gotten a few more stages in myself, got held up a bit and had a dropped chain, but managed 4th in HT. Considering I'm not far off grand vet, I'm pleased with that 😀
Well done all. I think fitness was making up for lack of talent in stages 1&2 for me.
Stage 3 was brilliant, only got two goes on it and had traffic from two riders on one run.
Binned it at the start of stageonetwo after daring to go near a root.
Saved me the bother of typing that myself own, cheers! Nice chatting to people in queues. Fun stages (apart from the first 1/2 of #2!
Stage 2 was so frustrating. I had 5 goes at that one, determined to get a clean run with no stacks or traffic. I could not get my head round not braking mid-corner on the roots! Pretty basic bike handling stuff, but just couldn't help myself!
+1 on stage 2 being tricky! Definitely my worst stage but didn't get a chance to go back and do more runs on it as my son was keen to do another lap on the mega fun stage 3! I may have chatted to you in the stage 2 queue? You were on go #4 at the time.
Anyway - thought about cornering on yesterday's family ride and drilled some flat corners. Simple things, but if it takes a race for me to rethink some body positioning then that's good.
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/?series_id=594
My lad is in for round 3.... Apparently there's an option of me riding on the Sat for £40 and then being pit-crew for the Sunday, but i'm waiting for confirmation on that one.
Course looks fun and if need be, i may even enter it if no other option.
I was similar @nedrapier, was overcooking it into the corners, then touching the brakes making everything unstable on the roots resulting in ending up too deep in the corner. Then had to hammer the pedals to regain speed. The odd corner I managed to stay off the brakes during the cornet I was running scared of the roots and drifting way too wide anyway! Basic handling that is missing at the moment. Just occasionally I'd do the right thing and the corner would feel great but it was rare.
Slow in, slow out seemed the order of the day.
My lad is in for round 3…. Apparently there’s an option of me riding on the Sat for £40 and then being pit-crew for the Sunday, but i’m waiting for confirmation on that one.
Course looks fun and if need be, i may even enter it if no other option.
Sounds fun.
I'll definitely be doing some more racing. I wasn't fast but still enjoyed it. Probably give some XC a go as well.
In a bit of a suprise a pic of me also made the PB article 😆, though their description of my technique is rather generous.
OK, we're back to game time !!!
http://minienduro.tv/2021/06/machynlleth-18-07-2021/
Enduro racing !!!
[s] Is there a sign up link for that (or at least one to be told its a waiting list /sold out) or am I being blind? [/s]
Edit its just not obvious in landscape.
you're being blind
Enter this link https://minienduro-mach.eventbrite.co.uk
It only opened up on the 15th so shouldn't be full yet... well, my entry was accepted for both me and the boy !
If anyone is attending, he'll be sporting his new jersey, so give him a high 5 and a hello...
I'll be the fat middle aged IT nerd with him on the pink Bird
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51164916830_1f1093749e_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51164916830_1f1093749e_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2kXgzds ]51163130957_c690b06f38_k[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
Considered any of the [url= https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?event_id=7752 ]Pedalhounds[/url] races, weeksy? Short descents, so may not be your cuppa tea, but pretty local and cheaper than most. Me and my lad did one together a few years back. Good day out.
Thanks for posting that up weeksy, assuming nothing goes wrong twixt now and then I'll grab you a beer if I spot you there.
Considered any of the Pedalhounds races, weeksy? Short descents, so may not be your cuppa tea, but pretty local and cheaper than most. Me and my lad did one together a few years back. Good day out.
Team/Dual sounds like a good laugh... i'd worry about holding him back.
Up to now we've just got this new one and then one a few weeks later at Caersws in the Gravity Events series.
Thanks for posting that up weeksy, assuming nothing goes wrong twixt now and then I’ll grab you a beer if I spot you there.
we've booked a place nearby, i think we'll spend the day before at the beach eating ice cream in Aberystwyth.
Aye, booked a B and B for Saturday night so I'll maybe get a practice lap in to try reducing my minceyness on Sunday.
Will depend on Mrs brain and what she would like to do with the day really.
After enjoying the Haibike enduro, me and the lad are both entered for Southern Enduro rounds 4 and 5... Milland and Minehead...
Anyone else coming out to play ?
i'll be at Milland 😀
As an aside, or semi-related; if you're in a club and they need volunteers to manage a race, do it if you can spare an hour.
New organiser here and not having people step forward very readily for even a short spell is kinda discouraging, and definitely putting me off ever taking on this hassle again. Volunteer requests are where races go to die.
got an entry to Milland. Probably won't be riding unless I can heal a grade 2 AC separation in a month.
Anyone else playing then? Looking forward to it now I've got the bike I want
Brrrr 417 today for final DH race of the year. Cold cold foggy dark. Lol
Been out for 1 run in practice, went ok I think but wasn't exactly flying
Let's see what run 2 brings
Good luck 🤞👍
Fingers crossed, hard part today will be keeping him warm between runs. At least you aren't stuck on a hill side in the middle of nowhere. 😎
Fp1 was a 2.14
Fp2 was a 2.10
Fp3 was a 2.08
Got to be happy. Trying to pump the kickers and let off brakes earlier.
Kept my lad honest for the first 45s of that run until he gapped me
Fingers crossed, hard part today will be keeping him warm between runs
He can look after himself today lol.
Sub 2 min in the pipeline then.
Looking like a foggy hillside today too...