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A quick ask; how many racing bikes do you have / need? I have a Vitus Carbon HT and a Scott Spark.
I want an all day bike / position and am interested in the Solaris Max 29 with a 140mm fork likely, but I’d have to sell the Vitus for cash and space. Do we need “spare” race bike really? Why not just defer to the - heavier - Spark ?
Then again, the old “ train on what you race” theory springs to mind for familiarity.
One 29er XC FS and one 29er XC HT, the geo is nigh on identical, the set up & positioning is working a couple of mm on each bike, same bars (dimension wise) same grips, pedals, saddles and tyres, even got the same bottle cages.
I train on the HT mostly and use the FS for racing, which as I was specializing in 12 & 24hr stuff works nicely, with the HT in the pits.
Out of necessity I had to race the HT at Cannock - thankfully I took both, my mates wife was going to go for a ride on the HT to try before she buys - as the rear brake lever failed on the FS just before the race.
So in my world, there's no way I wouldn't have both - at the moment. Even though this year I'm not soloing anything, just marathons, a bit of XCO for shits & giggles, Mayhem 24hr as a team and then CX
One 29er XC FS and one 29er XC HT, the geo is nigh on identical, the set up & positioning is working a couple of mm on each bike, same bars (dimension wise) same grips, pedals, saddles and tyres, even got the same bottle cages.
Same here . I am suffering from not riding - training and turbos plus weather is pissing me off tbh . It's quagmire conditions also so it not like I can go for a long ride in the country - more like frustrating sloppy progress punctuated by bloody intervals .
I'll probably save my Cotic want for a Flaremax on race retirement.
Are you doing the Scott's Steve?
One - 29er FS, the Orbea Oiz. Might be overkill for most courses, but at my age my back will thank me for it 🙂
Are you doing the Scott’s Steve?
I'm doing the double at Builth, possibly Llandovery, but I'm doing Bristol to Liverpool the week before so might need a rest.
Bonehead might clash with holidays, but I'll be at Hope for the double again.
I did the double last year at Builth. The night race was one of the standout races in my life. It was so wet, muddy and slippery (like your front wheel was never tracking straight the entire time) that it was ludicrous, hence magnificent. The marshals out on the course were the real heroes. What a night to be out in.
I use a Pivot Les with a 120mm fork as my training bike. Use it for road miles too with the fork locked out. Have added some small frame bags to it with all the essentials in plus extra waterproofs and layers. One side of the main bag is kept full of snacks so I can just grab the bike and go without any hassle.
Love that bike so much.
I wouldn’t train on my race full suss. The components are too expensive. I run 2x10 on my Pivot which means I can get a new cassette and chain for about £25.
My CX has 40mm mud tyres on it and the MTB’s have a mezcal on the back, which ain’t the best in mud, so I’ll see which one is in best state of repair tonight.
How are the Mezcals generally?
I'm running a stock, fairly low profile Bontrager tyre on the Superfly. Probably cheap and nasty compound but I'm quite enjoying the back end sliding around at the moment (good training for CX probably). Just worried I'll be penalised on any long/slippy climbs where I might spin out.
I have a posh new Mezcal waiting to go on but frankly would rather return it and spend the money on something else, unless someone told me they were absolutely fantastic tyres...
i've got 2 mezcals and 2 barzos sitting in my loft space, both fitted, then removed
They are fantastic, except in mud and clay.
Hmm... torn!
Should probably swap it for a more toothy tyre in case of muddy courses, but then the idea of a faster rolling tyre than I already have on is quite tempting. I see the rollingresistance website said the Mezcal was one of the top 3 fastest rolling XC tyres (all else being equal e.g. tubeless sidewall etc.).
The grown up in me says I don't need a new rear tyre at all and I should just return it and spend the money on the next race entry! Will see how tomorrow goes, if it's snowing today then tomorrow's course could be pretty sloppy...
When they were on offer I bought an extra Barzo, so that in wet / muddy conditions I could swap out to that on the rear. In fact they still are £32 at probe kit.
Or perhaps make Weeksy an offer, he doesn't seem to like them.
Re number of bikes... I've just the one xc bike.. Travers Angus SS, rigid...
I'm not massively into proper xc racing, so this suits me for racing and winter riding.. Don't really get the opportunity to 'train' per se!
A few other bikes too.. Road fixie, Enduro HT, cx... But they'd be crap in an xc race!
Anyone riding Winchester tomorrow then?
DrP
Anyone riding Winchester tomorrow then?
Yes, a couple of us coming up from Bournemouth tomorrow. We're definitely in the "making up the numbers" ranks.
Had a bash at the offcamber race in Blandford a few weeks ago which was good fun but hella rooty!
Forecast for tomorrow actually looks alright, never ridden there before so no idea what it'll be like.
I’ll be racing at Matterley Basin tomorrow, open category.
I'm starting 0945... The categories are confusing!!
DrP
How are the Mezcals generally
I really rate them as a many conditions rear tyre, just not in mud.
Oof! 1st round of Scottish XC Series. Am sure I was promised gravelly trail centre, but that was muddier than some cross races! 😉
Great course, real mix of everything, was humbled when one of the elites passed me then prejumped and cleared the nastiest, steepest rock garden on the course.
Definitely swapping for the slightly larger, slightly stickier Mezcal, the syock tyre was a proper US 'dust' tyre but still coped OK, could just have done with a bit more grip on the hard packed fast twisty bits.
Great event 2tyred! Contemplated doing some detective work and trying to figure out who you were, but I seized the opportunity to get home nice and quick to earn some brownie points 😉
Super sticky mud down South at Matterley as well. I really should invest in something other than dust racing tyres...
Good course, would have liked it to be more technical, but impressive what they’d pulled out of that terrrain.
DrP (I think - beard + singlespeed) came past me on the last lap like I was going backwards. Impressive technical riding and fitness.
I finished top third of the open category, pleased with that.
Gutted for the organisers as they had a lot of their kit nicked on the Friday night, really amazing they were still able to put a race on.
Please could someone explain how races work that finish at a certain time plus one lap?
I messed up yesterday at HTN.... I asked the finish line marshals as I went past around noon if this was my last lap. They said "no, two more to go" so I held back a bit. Then when I came round to start my expected last lap they said "Well done you're finished" , so I stopped a bit nonplussed. It was a bit confusing.
Completely inconsequential given I was mid pack but would be nice to know for next time.
So is it only the leaders that get to start a lap after 12 noon , or the you get to do ish the lap you're on or you get to start a new lap.
When the winner finishes you get to finish the lap you're on and that's it.
HTN was a 2 hr race, starting 10am - the timekeepers will see what the first couple of lap times are like for the leaders to get an idea of how many laps the race will be - Yesterday I believe the leaders did 7 (so lapping 16/17 min prob)
So for you getting your money's worth (you can't be too exact in a race like that as you do't know if the winner is going to do those 7 in 1hr 55 or 2hr 5, say), if you were mid pack and starting a lap 11.35am then you might think there's a chance of getting another 2 in here, ie you'll get round and then go again before the winner finishes. If you started a lap at 11.45 am, though, you'd almost certainly know that was your last lap.
So there's no way the timekeepers told you you had two laps to go 'around 12' - either a miscommunication or it was actually earlier than you thought.
Great event yesterday anyhow - hard racing.
DrP (I think – beard + singlespeed) came past me on the last lap like I was going backwards. Impressive technical riding and fitness.
:D.. yeah, 'twas me..think i was the only one racing SS!
I thought it was a really good race on Sunday; my practice lap was sooo goopy and claggy, but actually by the third and fourth lap the ground had (mostly) firmed up and a racing line developed.
Great little lap, a few simple tech climbs and descents to play about on.. not too much fireroad (the nemesis of a single speed!).
My first Southern XC race so started back in the 3rd or 4th 'line up' as the first few rows were seeded.. Probably started back in about 24th-30th.. managed to sneak past the most numbers on the first sharp fireroad climb and on the wider sections and came by on my first lap about 12th (i think - a kid shouted that out at the line! I trusted them!)
THen managed to get into a pace and gently pick off more riders as the laps went by; either nipping by on the climbs and the muddy sections, or biding my time and waiting for a simple mistake (again, mainly on teh muddy sections - loads of people were really slowing down or slipping about on them..)
Was lapping about with a young lad for the last lap and a halp, then his back wheel slid out jsut before a sloggy muddy climb (before the REAL mud fest bit near the field/fireroad that you 180 back onto), and i managed to keep momentum and pushed ahead... he gave a 'well done chap' at that point, and settled in about 30 seconds behind..
managed to hold the position for the rest of the lap, and came in happy at 5th place in sport...
Would love to do the rest of the series as would now be gridded on teh front line, but got the kids those weekends so maybe next year eh!!
DrP
Have to admit I did rather enjoy the mud & water party that was Hit the North, it was tough and that slog across the field was bloody horrible on a MTB with 2.25" tyres.
Got rather a nice cut & lump on my shin after someone fell off in front of me on those super slippy double slabs, I had to stop so I didn't ride over them and my front wheel just went from under me as I unclipped, ended up in the soggy ground next to it.
It'll be nice when they get the results sorted, but I reckon mine is about right judging by the positions of those around me that i know I either passed or was near to.
I do seem to need a new set of brake pads front and rear though and there were some very funny things going on with my gears.
Just to second Gary's comments above about race duration, once the winner has completed their allotted number of laps, everyone behind finishes the next time they cross the line irrespective of the number of laps you've managed to complete., and if you were in reality anywhere past 11:35 as you crossed the line and mid-pack that next lap will be your last.
13thfloormonk - thanks, glad you enjoyed! A long weekend for me and the crew but plenty of happy faces.
Certainly was muddy, eh? Cathkin gets a bad rep sometimes for being a sanitised, armoured track so we like to mix it up and use plenty of the great natural stuff it has tucked away. Did feel a bit guilty though when I saw nobody could get up the muddy bank down towards the far end in the woods!
Next one you're at, just ask any of the team in SXC jackets where Jason is, they'll point you my way.
Post-flu here, so assisted with the course build on Saturday and marshalled all day @ Cathkin- but didn't race. Glad everyone enjoyed it.
The course was a careful blend of previous XC races and had something for everyone, and the organisers, comms, RD, SC etc did an excellent job- Glasgow Riderz FTW. The day went really smoothly I felt, with only a couple of tumbles on one rocky descent.
I ended up being stationed near the burn at the top of Brig O Doom, and you could see the climb there making some struggle. Grant Ferguson made it look easy, as did Isla Short- but so did a fair few youths and juniors. Lots of talent out there.
See you all at Dalbeattie.
Oh p.s. what's a good starting point for tubeless pressures?
I'm 85kg running latex tubes in 2.2" tyres, worked great at 28 psi approx but my hands were definitely feeling a bit beaten by the end, wouldn't mind going a little lower...
13thfloormonk - I run about 18-19psi front and about 23psi rear, I'm 75kg.
650b wheels, 2.2" tyres, front 16-20psi, rear 22-25psi, also 75kg
I'm one of the organisers at the SouthernXC.
Thanks for the positive comments above, it's a real shame that the overnight rain storm battered the course for the first race of the day as it was great for the TrailX Duathlon on Saturday and for the later races on Sunday.
It also sounds like DrP enjoyed picking out the cheeky lines that we leave open, keep your eyes peeled.
Hopefully see loads of you at the next round at Checkendon near Reading on 21th April.
I run my tubeless at about 21F 23R, I’m 72kg at my racing weight.
I'm 70kg at my racing weight, sadly i've not been my racing weight since i was 15 years old.
I dipped my toe in at Cathkin and found myself a bit out of depth on some of the steep stuff, having a big crash in practice didn't help race confidence either....I needed a lot more time to see what I could and couldn't do on the course before racing it. The only thing I would say is that the entry to B lines weren't very obvious at all, thought they might have had sign beside them for novices like me! Organisation and marshalls were spot on though. Was a bit surprised by the muddy run ups, I should have kept the studs in the shoes after the cx season!
That's a fair shout actually, I took the a-lines but couldn't actually tell where some of the B-lines where...
I think ultimately turning up early, walking the course, maybe even getting in on one of the early practice slots might be the answer. Not really practical for me personally as I've sold all the races to my wife as 'just being away for the afternoon'...
bigmandh/13floormonk - I can only apologise for the lack of signage around A/B lines! Normally we'd have this all in place by the Saturday afternoon for course inspection (although at Cathkin there's a good chance of much of that going missing overnight), but the weather on Saturday made me concerned for the course building team's welfare and didn't want anyone staying out there any longer than totally necessary.
We had a couple of issues first thing on the Sunday with kit getting to site which, coupled with the new environmentally-friendly marking paint we're using not enjoying the rain/slush/mud and disappearing(!) meant the signage wasn't as good as we'd hoped in a lot of areas. We're a new team and this is something we've now given more focus to in our weekend planning, so hopefully we'll be more on top of that next round!
We've made changes to the category setups for a number of reasons, but one of the hoped-for benefits is being able to open the main course for practice earlier ahead of the afternoon race. We managed that on Sunday, and we're hoping to increase the practice time available further as the series progresses.
One week left for entry to round 2 at Dalbeattie - would be great to see you back!
2tyred, no apologies necessary for me, was just constructive criticism! 😉
No Dalbeattie for me unfortunately, looking forward to Rd 3 though!
Start sheets out for the first National at Sherwood this weekend, huge field in vet (86) and g/vet (66). I think this is the only time in my life I'll be grid'd ahead of Nick Craig! He's 44th and I'm 8th, can't see that lasting long! Lots of other quick guys quite far back as well.
Looks like a bigger field than last year, i'm right down in 56 in Vets, doubt I'll go forward from there anyway 🙂
Round 2 of Southern XC entered. I feel a cunning plan coming on of distracting other racers with small easter eggs as they try to overtake...
I was at the SXC last weekend as well, racing in Sport category for the first time in almost a decade. I was expecting to be a back marker but was encouraged to find myself in 8th place and pulling away until I punctured on the 4th lap. I entered as a bit of an experiment to see how I'm getting on for the Muckmedden 6hr and 10 Under the Ben and was really encouraged by it, especially considering I was 14 stone at the start of 2017 and my fitness had plummeted from my uni days. Next time I'll know to have harder tyres!
Can't say I noticed the entrance to the B lines, but the A lines weren't especially hard compared to, for example, the only available line at Aberfoyle in 2009! The SXCs are generally pretty technical races.
So, who made it to the first National Points race of the year and how was it, I've heard some pretty good things about the course?
The course at Sherwood was good, perfect conditions and no bike cleaning! The entry list read like a who's who of British cycling! Pleased to get the first one done and reasonably happy with 11th in GV, I even led the race - for the first 100 yards 🙂
As predicted, Nick Craig came through like a train, caught me before the first half lap was done!
Hope everyone else got on okay?
Me. Nice weekend although it wasn't a race to remember on a personal level, bottom half of the results in vet male, grid placing just ahead of finish placing which is never good. Just too pedally a course on a SS and I ain't match fit right now. It's the least technical MTB course I know of, but I still like it, it's just a different kind of race, more tactical. More like a crit in fact, 10 sprints per lap! Tight twisty corners at speed through the woods is always good.
Scotland youths and juniors did good though, that's my main reason for being there.
Great course at Sherwood pretty fast, I didn't do well, got off the line quick and made up a load of places and then lost out at that bottle neck corner and couldn't really gain much after that, I did enjoy it though, apart from throwing up on the last lap.
Having done the likes of gt7 and ten under ben a few years ago, I've finally decided to give a proper xc race a try. Penciled in lochore meadows in august to give me a chance to train.
Ftp at moment is around 3.8 w/kg, I'm hoping to get that up to around 4 by August. My issue is I have absolutely no sprint, top speed, or race experience. Point me up a long mountain climb and I won't embarrass myself, and I can descend ok on an mtb, but I fear short bursts of power, or lack of, will have me amongst the back markers from the gun.
Just signed myself up to a trainer road xc plan, and already got myself a decent light xc bike, but what's best approach to ensure in 4 months time I'm not stone cold last.
Also..what category to enter? As a complete beginner to racing I'm considering the taster category but I'm wary that may be slightly too low a level, even with my limitations.
I love that the course at Sherwood proves that it doesn't have to be obviously technical but can become super technical as the speed goes up - trying hard not to whack your hand/bar/shoulder on the trees certainly keeps you on your toes.
The early season enthusiasm is brilliant and it's for us race organisers to keep delivering the best we can to help keep it going.
Please keep all of the course feedback coming as it really helps - the likes, didn't likes etc, just remember that we can't change the weather, unfortunately
Oh, I'm on of the organisers at the SouthernXC.
Adam - I didn't race the Matterley race, but my son did in the kids races. He knew he wasn't fit, and was caught behind the start crash, but then he had a great time and passed half the field and was buzzing at the end. Looked a really good kids course with decent turn-out too. Good work!
tpbiker - You'd need to enter (depending on your age) Vets or Sport (there's no master's category at the SXCs). The quality at the back of the field in Sport is approximately that of an average rider, and if you're talking about FTPs and stuff you should be at the front. I ride top ten in sport and don't use a heart rate monitor or anything.
If you're doing a paid for training plan and are over 40 you should enter Vets - the racing there is very high quality.
tpbiker, I'm no-where near your fitness and haven't even ridden much MTB in the past few years, but still managed 16th out of 37 in sport (although I'm counting DNFers in that 😉 ).
I could have mopped up a couple more places with better race-craft (dawdled off the line and got properly caught up in traffic on first lap) and with slightly better pacing (suffered a stitch of all things in the second lap, possibly from too much enthusiastic running up the muddy bits).
Anyway, point being, you'll be competing for top 10 easily in Sport I would have thought, don't know about Vets.
Also, apart from the start line sprint, I didn't notice too much race specific fitness being required, not like CX where making the effort to pass can yield results as the guy behind then needs to make the effort to re-pass. Where I was sitting in the field overtaking seemed mostly by request, i.e. the other person just moved over if you asked. Basically felt like an off-road time trial for the most part.
Lochore will be my next race now, bloody family duties clashing with Beecraigs 🙁
It's not uncommon to be in both the giving and receiving of "just shout if you want to pass" followed by "nah it's ok, I'm dying here too"
It's quite funny at times that you don't exactly want to lose a place, but the person behind you doesn't have the energy to take it from you either,
What Weeksy said! 🤣
Reading this with some jealousy. I've one, very hard week to go before I end my winter training and emerge into the sunlight. I'm missing the trails and riding for fun and very much look forward to race season which will be races punctuated with easier and at least outdoor rides for recovery and endurance.
Wanting to have fun on my bike again, heads full of doubts.
Was anyone else at the Muckmedden 6 Hour last weekend? It was a good event, and pretty novel - three times on the course you had a choice between a genuinely technical "enduro" line or an "XC" line that was longer and slower. It was pretty rowdy on an XC bike.
Managed to bag the win in the mixed pairs category, and 2nd pair overall, around 9 minutes down on the winning pair but we were eating into their lead for the last 2 hours. It was a bit of a test event for me to see if I could still race my lungs out - it looks like I can! They're still sore two days later.
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Everything I've heard about Muckmedden has been great - an amazing result Munrobiker, nice one.
It seems like MSG put in a mega course for the National Points race at Hadley - I wasn't able to get there but from what I've heard it was pretty brutal!
It was a really good course at Hadleigh at the weekend, nearly the same as the original Olympic course, my race (GV) turned into a disaster on lap three with a puncture, ended up 15th which could have been worse.
Good weekend with my team mate winning vets, really pleased for him.
If you were on the b lines then the time penalty would have been massive- big detours! I’m always pleased to come away from Hadleigh in one piece, especially when travelling to China the next day! Just writing this from the departure lounge in Shanghai on my way back now.
Another well run event by MSG as always.
Ml
Rd 2 of Southern XC today, at Checkendon. An exercise in how not to prepare
1) week of excessive eating and drinking on holiday
2) put back out operating canal lock
3) stinking cold
still raced - was gridded in Open class this time! Great but ultimately futile as the whoosh of riders coming past me in the opening straight was more deafening than usual. Awesome course, dry, dusty, fast, with a big dose of roots to make sure you were awake. Once I’d settled in, there was a good amount of trading places - pass people in the woods, then have them pass you on the open sections.
Came down to a sprint finish for 23rd at the end - wasn’t going to contest it with the guy in front, but could hear the guy behind winding up his sprint so had to go for it. The photo of that finish will probably look good if you ignore the overall position!
Blimey, 22nd, 23rd and 24th at the SouthernXC in Open were really close, 1.7secs across 3 places! That's what I love about racing at Checkendon, and other flatter courses, the racing is so close.
Well done buddy, crap prep and a great race!
Ffs. First race of the London Beastway series today of which I have entered. Went out with friends to a restaurant last night, spent 3-5am with my head in the toilet purging my stomach.
I guess I shouldn’t race especially as it’s a “training” race, best to get better so I can carry on with my training plan thereafter stronger and not derail it further I suppose?
It's probably not a great idea to race.
But I probably would.
It’s probably not a great idea to race.
But I probably would.
Exactly what I said to Mrs K 😀 I’m seeing how having breakfast makes me feel. Jnr is racing so I have to go anyway, I can always DNF if I’m having a torrid time and tomorrow is a Z2 so impact is minimal
Did you race Kryton?
I was almost 12 minutes down on the winner but that included some comedy moments like heading for the cafe after 3 laps because I thought the bell meant I was finished! 🙂
Did some snooping. Thank god you didn't start Kryters!
I saw your post whilst drinking my morning coffee and thought; No! Don’t race, It’ll kill your morale.
You’re actually on a decent trajectory with your training this year so stay cool dude, play the long game. Glad to see you were smart.
Got to laugh. Top three of vets were Mat Webber, Rob Purcell and Stuart McGhee. Not exactly an easy local race then. (To those that don’t know them, these three are legit national standard racers).
. Top three of vets were Mat Webber, Rob Purcell and Stuart McGhee.
Oh.. I could see they /looked/ quick so was feeling smug about being ahead of them in the final results 🙂 However, now looking at Matthew Webber's Strava I think the vet results include their ~15 min delay in startin- if so he was quickest on the day for the 4 laps by a good margin.
My wrists are hurting this morning (a few parts of the trail were a baked-hard mud version of a rock garden!). Glad Wednesday is a shorter one.
Did some snooping. Thank god you didn’t start Kryters!
I saw your post whilst drinking my morning coffee and thought; No! Don’t race, It’ll kill your morale.
You’re actually on a decent trajectory with your training this year so stay cool dude, play the long game. Glad to see you were smart.
I didn’t and was wise! It was a struggle not to but after I returned home - after Juniors race within which he came 4th - and started feeling a tired and weak at 4pm AND saw it had become a 2h race in that wind, I’m glad I didn’t. End game indeed, I’m sure I would have dnf’d and compromised the beginning of this week. I won’t be at Beastway until the 8th, work allowing.
Still trying to work out who you are twowheels...
Kryton, tough decision but sounds like not racing was the best call.
I was #303 in HSBC kit with the best gurning photo in the facebook album 🙂
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Did anyone do 10UTB yesterday? Was amazed how many folk were racing on full sussers, I only saw a handful of hardtails (and 1 gravel bike) and was surprised especially due to the amount of climbing. However the downhill sections were bumpy and my wrists, back and shoulders were shot after 10laps on the hardtail so maybe it was a good choice by the majority after all!
I know a couple of people who went to 10UTB and both were in FS, an Epic and an Anthem. Are the climbs as rough as the descents? I was wondering if it's a case of FS bikes offering better traction and being pretty light these days?
Did anyone do the SWXC race yesterday, I've heard rumours of a good course???
I did 10 Under- it went well, we finished 4th in our category and 10th overall in pairs and all my laps were within a minute and a half of each other. I finished the last lap completely spent so I did it right. Annoyingly I was struggling to keep up with the fastest riders on the first climb on the first lap so I need to do more training.
We were part of the big crowd doing it in memory of BJ Doherty.
I was on a hardtail, because that's the bike I have that suits riding fast these days, but I did 10 Under and Relentless a lot between 2008 and 2013 and after the first one always did it on a racey full susser. It was always faster than the hardtail and more comfortable, which meant I was faster later in the race. The downhills are rough, and even the fast bits on the puggy line are actually pretty rough at speed, and can really fatigue you over the length of a race.
10UTB is on the must do list - maybe next year!
Anyone at Beastway tonight?
Reckon I mildly sprained my left wrist somehow on Saturday but didn't notice (afterwards it just felt sore but now is painful when pulling back and to the side). So I'll be taking it easy on any baked-hard-mud-pseudo-rock-garden sections (and testing the logistics of riding directly from work).
Noticed Javier Simon on the start list. Hoping to tell him what a fan I am of his HT550 efforts haha.
I’ll be there tonight - 406 Jack Curzon. I didn’t get a gurning photo on Saturday only one of my bottom! Javier is like the terminator on his single speed - relentless!!!
Yeah, I like to imagine they’re in a special separate Vet race...come to think about it, they are!!!
Does gt7 count as an xc race and if so is anyone doing it? I just got a last minute entry riding for one of the event sponsors in their trio. Technically this makes me a sponsored rider, although in reality it's because my mate who I started biking with owns the company and is riding, and was a man short!
Did it about 6 years ago, in 2013 as I recall, I remember there being alot of climbing involved but there was bugger all in the way of technical riding. I also remember passing about 20 times more people than I was passed by, however still barely made top 3rd. There seemed to be a real mix of folks, lots on big full suss bikes who were doing it as a relaxing day out (the majority), and a smaller minority of really fast folks who were so much faster than me and taking it quite seriously.
Looking forward to it, first race in a long long time.
@mcvittees - nice to see another STW'er! I saw you did a decent ride on Saturday. How did you get on today?
Didn't go well for me :/ I broke a spoke and as dusk set in crashed and then caught a branch in my eye! I'm laughing about it now but on the ride home I was thinking the race today wasn't actually too much fun.
I had a quick chat with Javier and congratulated him on his cable-tie dropout fix on the HT550! He passed me not long into the race and I rode on his wheel a while but then he got away.
Oh results are already up.. I see you beat me @mcvittees 🙂 Were you the guy in the LP kit who was talking to Javier near the start?
It would have been twowheels. They’ll be two LP’s next week 😉
well done both. Pretty proud of Kryton Jnr coming 2nd today.
Cheers Kryton and well done Kryton Jr. Hopefully catch you next week assuming I've regained motivation then!
'Twas I. It sucks when things don't go your way but stick with it. However unmotivated you feel now, I always feel worse when I look at the results or Strava rides of races I've missed!
It certainly did get a bit dark at the end didn't it? Tbh I wasn't sure it was safe to be riding in the dark like that...there were a lot of places where you wheel could get caught up and flip you off. However, I suppose that's also part of the challenge!