UK Enduros

Ah interesting about the Valleys Series. Saw something about it on FB before I quit it recently but good to see some brand new race venues.

After years of loving racing, I haven't bothered this year as the love kinda disappeared. Mostly down to my local race mates not being particularly bothered but I think also because the last few years, we've been racing the same events/venues (OK, Covid had a big factor in that I know). That...and the overall cost of attending a race weekend from Cornwall means a lot of races have increasingly becoming too expensive to bother with for us. Really appreciated Scott F running a Southern Enduro round at Newnham Park a few weeks ago however, and I'm now thinking I might do a few races again next year. The Valleys one has potential - new venues to ride/race is always a winner

Clicked on the link and must admit I thought it must be a Cotic-sponsored event - though I guess the logos aren't that similar when you have them side-by-side.

Tweed Valley enduros (Tweedlove and EWS) this year have been awesome. They even managed to get the sunny weather booked.

I did only a handful of races this year & didn’t commit to any series, as I’m pretty bored of racing the same trails at the same venues. Also not really interested in going to a ‘full’ race where you have a total race time of about 5 minutes.

Considering I have done almost no training for 3 years, it was ok, won one, few podiums, etc. Next year I think I am going to go & do this new valleys series as its pretty local to us venues are new. I might even see if I can find some motivation & go & do a couple of bigger Euro races.

Also not really interested in going to a ‘full’ race where you have a total race time of about 5 minutes.

this is one of my biggest annoyances at the moment; Welsh BNES had a winning time of just over 8 min over 6 stages, Welsh Enduro in Dyfi had 5 a sub 5 min winning time.

I happened to be in the area so it didn't matter, but I'd have been fuming if I'd travelled a long way to race the Dyfi round having heard there's so much good riding only to find the enduro hasn't scratched the surface and such a short race time.

I'd like to see organisers provide a clear separation of 'proper' races from mini, fun, intro etc.

BNES have had offers to help with the website and comms but doesn't look like anything has come of it. A proper co-ordinated race calendar doesn't seem too much to ask for.

Yep, It seems most have moved away from the original Enduro format of a practice day Saturday (possible seeding run too) and a big loop on the Sunday, instead just trying to cram it all in on a one day affair. Some races the loop is a joke, sub 10km & a few hundred meters of vert is not even close to a proper enduro IMO.

Whilst I didn’t particularly think much of Steve Parr, the early days of the UKGE series were great - we did some big 40/50km loops & a decent amount of climbing (1500+m days) and still managed 15-20mins of stage times. It became more of a challenge as the loops were tough & a big day out, which is how it should be.

There should be a place for these smaller races, as a one day affair is a damn sight easier to organise (and attend for people) but it seems like it’s the default these days.

There's space for one days, mash ups and 10km enduros, but yeah the UKGE style enduro is sorely missed in the UK. Some of those were brutal but that's what you expected and to be fair even a moderately unfit person like me could get round it, just needed to get on with it.

I really like how they're communicating those events, that definitely got to be a problem with uk enduros, you often couldn't tell whether it'd be a lap of a trail centre (Glenlivet) or absolute death falling off a mountain (Kinlochleven) and as soon as numbers started to drop from the big glory days, no wonder organisers wanted to please everyone- which ended up pleasing less people. And, well, nuff said about national series fiascos.

I can't be arsed with it now- nothing to do with the events, I just maybe OD'd on it after a few years of it being absolutely the best events I'd ever done, or maybe I'd just done enough? But it's sad to see how it's fallen off, after being such an amazing thing. Gamechanging, for me and my riding and for my riding area.

Some of those were brutal but that’s what you expected and to be fair even a moderately unfit person like me could get round it, just needed to get on with it.

Hoping the Naughty returns next year, that was absolutely shattering but you felt like it was worth it (once they sorted the water situation). Might look at the Tweed series as well. Maybe. I just need to get out more than anything else and the races give me the motivation.

But it’s sad to see how it’s fallen off, after being such an amazing thing. Gamechanging, for me and my riding and for my riding area.

Well people did say enduro was the new downhill.

100% agree with the above. The mash ups, trail centre and entry level events are fine, but they need to be advertised as such.

I think the national series needs to be minimum 10 min winning time and all natural stages. Hopefully that's what we'll see next year.

Interestingly I was speaking to one of the Tweedlove organisers who claimed they put in longer transitions because they had feedback people wanted more riding time to separate enduro from e-bikes. Surely this has been misinterpreted and no one actually wants longer transitions?

Gamechanging, for me and my riding and for my riding area.

Yep, that initial surge changed my riding and completely upped the level of local trails. Unfortunately I was too late to the party for UKGE

Ultimately, it's going to be really difficult to get some sort of cohesive system in place without any real national leadership detailing the rules and definition of each event. BEMBA states on their own website that they were formed from race organisers due to a lack of national governing body! How do we get Si Paton on board again...?

On the topic of formats and race distances; organisers do need to be clear on the level and type of race they are offering! I have zero interest in a 10km mash up with 5 minutes race time. Likewise, I don't want to do a push up DH race with the same brutal push every stage (cough... LLANGOLLEN... cough).

The best format is the classic format in my opinion: 30-50km lap, 4-6 stages, 3-5 minutes per stage, 12-20 minute race time, practice Saturday, race Sunday!

Special shout out to these events I've done this year for fulfilling those expectations: Dunkeld Enduro, Manx 2-Day Enduro.

For those wondering about the Manx 2-Day event, it was excellent! 2 days practice, 10 stages, 2 days racing, post-race food and beer both days. If they run it the same next year it’s the first event I'll be booking. My race time was almost 38 minutes over the two days for 9th in Master. Proper enduro! - See the upcoming issue for some more info on this event.

@rhyswainwright - was the Manx one this event... https://www.manxmtbenduro.com/ ??

Sounds like great fun and a good excuse to visit the IoM

@v7fmp that's the one!

Joe Barnes did a great video:

The people, the trails, the atmosphere were all fantastic. Camp site was great at St Johns Football Club. Ferry wasn't extortionate if you can maximise passenger space. Actual driving distance for us from Calderdale (to Liverpool ferry terminal) was tiny compared to a Scottish trip.

For those wondering about the Manx 2-Day event, it was excellent! 2 days practice, 10 stages, 2 days racing, post-race food and beer both days. If they run it the same next year it’s the first event I’ll be booking. My race time was almost 38 minutes over the two days for 9th in Master. Proper enduro! – See the upcoming issue for some more info on this event.

It's on again next year, I think it'll be 8/9 July. I grew up on the Island and always do my best to spread the word as it's such a good event.

People get put off by the ferry, but split between a few people it's not bad, or train to Liverpool or Lancaster and travel as foot passenger (bike is free) is the cheapest option. The race entry is only £35 so it works out cheaper than most UK events for me.

Looking forward to reading the feature in the mag @rhyswainwright

One more point, there should at least be an 'elite' category for each gender at every event. I don't want pro's in my age group that I'm never going to beat. Most of them want an overall FTD win so they're not fussed on age group wins either.

Looks like the majority of series have released their dates now.

Comms regarding BNES have been non existent, but it looks like the series will be:

30 Apr Tweed Valley
4 Jun Dyfi Forest
25 Jun Ae
8/9 Jul Isle of Man
6 Aug Minehead

No sign of the Scottish Series dates yet, but they opted not to have a BNES round last year. Would be great if they did to add a September date.

To add, Triple Crown is to be two Tweed Valley with Kinlochleven in the middle. Death falling down a hill you say? 🤔

definatly liking the sound of that kinlochleven one, adding a bit of variaty to the tweedlove races. think it was scottish enduro that did a race there a few years ago that looked good.

Kinlochleven's an amazing venue- haven't been there for a few years mind and it's pretty changable with weather erosion up there, but every time I've raced there except one, it's been brilliant. Kinda terrifying, always very wet, and i've always ended the weekend with either a broken bike or a broken bone but still. Up there with the EWS, the Mega and the fort william endurance dh as the best events I've ever done. Just complete nonsense.

I'm so far from match fit and race ready now it's unreal but I'm still tempted to get up for that one.

That said, there was once an enduro there sponsored by bluegrass (I think) which was shite. "Ride down the ciaran path", they said "oh but we've closed the good bits off because they're too dangerous to race, and if you ride them you'll be dq'd even though they're in the liaison, you must get off and push". So it can be done.

How does it compare to the Naughty? Similar or different scale?

@mark88 where did you get those dates from?

Its a real shame that there's no standalone national series , the problem is that for many the 2-3 day weekend witha massive loop and long stages, was hard to fit around families etc, especially if doing a full series
Also hard to coem up with new fresh decent length trails
numbers were falling by the end of UKGE, partly due to parr's rule changes but partly because other race series were appearing that were more accessible to most riders

Agree that Naughty Northumbrian is brilliant, Id do that race again

I got the BNES dates from each of the individual series announcements.

I think the shared national series can work, it just needs some solid framework to ensure events are of appropriate length and difficulty.

BEMBA really need to sort their communications out to be taken seriously as a national series. No posts on their social media since July, useless website and I don't recall seeing any announcements of series overalls etc last year.

BEMBA really need to sort their communications out to be taken seriously as a national series. No posts on their social media since July, useless website and I don’t recall seeing any announcements of series overalls etc last year.

You see that a lot on various MTB race organisers, confuses the heck out of me

BNES 2022 overalls can be found at https://www.sportident.co.uk/results/BNES/2022/Series/

I think even the main figures behind BEMBA/BNES will admit the series was rather problematic this year due to various reasons.

I have no doubt the series was difficult with all the cancellations and uncertainties, but that doesn't prevent them updating a website or setting up an email list so your riders know what is going on.

BNES 2022 overalls can be found at https://www.sportident.co.uk/results/BNES/2022/Series/
/blockquote>

Another gripe! I didn't get any points for the final round because I opted to ride with friends rather than taking a seeded entry despite that not being the case in any other round. Fortunately, I beat my mate and brother regardless which is the only racing I care about!

 

Manx 2 day entries now open.

Still no sign of SES or Dunkeld Enduro dates.

BNES entries all open.

30-Apr Tweedlove
04-Jun Welsh Enduro Series Dyfi
25-Jun PMBA Ae
08-Jul Manx MTB Enduro
06-Aug Southern Enduro Minehead

Anyone got any thoughts on what Ae will be like as a race venue? I've not been there for well over 10 years.

I've only got Dyfi entry so far. Unfortunately got a wedding the weekend of the Manx round, and none of the other BNES events are exciting me.

I plan to do Naughty Northumbrian if it goes ahead, and potentially a race or two in Scotland if their dates work.

I’ve only got Dyfi entry so far.

That may work for me and the boy.... It's certainly something to consider.

First round of WBE Valleys Enduro has sold out now! I'm booked on all the natural ones, so rounds 1,2 and 4. Should be good fun and it's promising that the first round has sold out for a brand new enduro series in a brand new location in February. Can't wait!

First round of WBE Valleys Enduro has sold out now!

Oh, that scuppers part of a plan i was developing lol

I did notice how few they seem to have in the youngster Cats...which somewhat disappointed.

Anyone got any thoughts on what Ae will be like as a race venue? I’ve not been there for well over 10 years.

Two big camping fields, may be midges!. Six stages if we’ve heard correctly.Ae’s not particularly mountainous😉 so the stages will struggle to test the top riders over 2 mins each without a bit of creativity. We think 5 of the 6 stages won’t have been raced nationally before. Should be a great venue and race.

First round of the WBE enduros at Taff Buggy was yesterday and it was great! Really well run especially for its first ever event and the stages were great. Super excited about the next round now!

I did notice how few they seem to have in the youngster Cats…which somewhat disappointed.

Well why not lead by example and enter anyway?

Well why not lead by example and enter anyway?

Simple answer is mate, we were racing somewhere else. But add to that, we've got a big season and without being too harsh, events with less competitors isn't really what we need. The Southern Enduro series and the Welsh can fill enough weekends with bigger fields of competitors so ticks more boxes.
We're not against racing in the series at all and i think it'd be an ace day out... But we've got very few weekends free, so on those, we are picking and choosing what we race.

Looking at say Rd3 though, there's just 5 people in the U16s.... Add to that it's between the Gravity event at Rheola and the National at Rheola ... So really it just doesn't fly as as a must-do event for us.

Rd4 clashes with Fort William.

Rd5 is the weekend before the National DH Championships.

Dunkeld is 13th and 14th May, it's going to be the last one (or at least the last one by the current organisers)

mark88
Full Member

Anyone got any thoughts on what Ae will be like as a race venue? I’ve not been there for well over 10 years.

Ae has the potential to be brilliant but it can also be a bit crap, it depends largely on whether the organisers think "let's do a red climb in reverse" is an enduro stage, and partly on whether they think that more pedalling in liaisons makes a better event in its own right.

It also has a bit of the same awkwardness that innerleithen gets- the best trails have been used a bunch in races, so it's a balancing act between "I've done this all before" and "I've raced here before and it was better"

(in fairness, a lot of people grumble when they get sent up the same fireroad 3 or 4 times a day, which is how you access a lot of the best riding... So it's understandable that some race organisers will spread it out even if it means riding a bigger loop in order to ride worse descents. Most races I've done there would be improved for me with one less stage, to be brutally honest, but obviously there are other entrants who would think that made it too short)

That's a shame about the Dunkeld enduro . It was always one of my favourite races of the year . The stages were always really good , although i never really managed to ride cairn to cottage properly and it always felt like a big day out on the bike with some meaty transitions , it always felt to me like what enduro racing should be .

Also there arent that many one day events , with the cost of everything these days full weekends racing are pretty expensive .

For what it’s worth I raced the western events enduro at taff buggy Sunday. First race in at least 3 or so years. Had fairly low expectations going into it but had an absolute blast. Stages were really fun. Way better than the race preview I watched showed them! Climb was brutal though.
I’m away for the next two of their rounds annoyingly.
It’s given me the bug back a little so I’m watching this thread for races to enter 😂

For what it’s worth I raced the western events enduro at taff buggy Sunday. First race in at least 3 or so years. Had fairly low expectations going into it but had an absolute blast. Stages were really fun.

Nice, that's what we like to hear.. New courses and new organisers are ace.. 🙂

Thanks @northwind. I'll keep an eye out for entries opening. Annoying timing means I'm potentially racing four consecutive weekends (Dunkeld, Boltby, Graythwaite, Dyfi) then nothing for almost three months.

Glad to hear it went well @marksnook - they certainly appear to be putting the hours in on the trail builds.

It also has a bit of the same awkwardness that innerleithen gets- the best trails have been used a bunch in races, so it’s a balancing act between “I’ve done this all before” and “I’ve raced here before and it was better”

I've only raced two stages at Inners, both of them were really well put together mash ups but appreciate that probably isn't feasible for hosting a whole race at the venue.

a lot of people grumble when they get sent up the same fireroad 3 or 4 times a day, which is how you access a lot of the best riding… So it’s understandable that some race organisers will spread it out even if it means riding a bigger loop in order to ride worse descents.

It's a tricky balance. Even Golfie they manage to make it a loop of sorts. I've never raced Llangollen but I know people dislike that because it's just multi stage DH using the same climb.

I took my lad to the Taff enduro at the weekend. Great event, really enjoyed our weekend away. Took my lad to Wyllie for a couple of runs on Sat as well.
Taff enduro s1 was superb, loved it. Glad to see that Jim B (in vid above) also failed to clear that double about 1/2 way down after the steep shoot! I failed everytime. I think my best attempt was my 1st attempt, just rolling the course. But looking at the vid, it seems people were cutting straight across one of the tight corners near the top???! Really? They know for certain thats cutting the tape and TBH should be DQ'd.
S2 was very good too, not so many faetures (as expected), but similar length and a little more slippy.
S3 was very short and I kept catching people where it was awkward to overtake.
Wish I had more time to do s2+3 more, but my lads 1st race away, so was riding with - and pushing his bike up lol! I didnt mind the climb really. Thought it was shortish, but shame it was too steep to bother riding. 4000ft climbing - chuffed my boy did it. He was shattered!

Nice job ! Keep up the reports if you do more.

I'm definitely excited about the next round now. Only 2 weeks away and the trails are apparently a bit more steep tech. Lots of confidence in the organisers after how well the first round went. So good to have some enduros in south wales now!

22nd march entered if anyone else fancies a bpw day.

http://minienduro.tv/dates-and-venues-2021/

Entry in for the Dunkeld Enduro

Got my entry in for Dunkeld as well, wasn't expecting 2 days (maybe I wasn't paying attention?) but it should be ace. Blind racing is the best, or maybe I just say that because I can never remember the trails anyway with practice.

Shame about the Tweedlove King and Queen, it'd have been great to get back to Kinlochleven, always had a hilarious/painful time racing there. Hope not too many people are stuck with accomodation costs, luckily ours is cancellable.

Shame about the Tweedlove King and Queen

What's happened to it? Was considering an entry, but would be riding blind as I can't manage practice as well

Presume a communication has gone out to those that have entered? I've not heard anything.

Interestingly I got a text out of the blue from someone involved in racing in Scotland on Saturday. If something has happened it would make sense that she was fishing for info, not the first time that's happened.

It's not going to be at kinlochleven any more- they're promising a new but just-as-good venue but no news yet on what it'll be. I'm not convinced that there's such a thing as a just-as-good-as-kinlochleven venue tbf but, we shall see!

It's a bit cheeky imo, they're saying everyone has to wait for refunds until after the new venue's announced. I guess they want to keep everyone's money for a bit longer and try and get people to transfer to the new location. Considering that people will be out of pocket for accomodation etc, I think they should be making this as easy and as smooth for punters as they can, not working their own angle... but to be fair it's only been the weekend so far, it might all come together quickly

Thanks Northwind, good to know!

Got my entry in for Dunkeld as well, wasn’t expecting 2 days (maybe I wasn’t paying attention?) but it should be ace. Blind racing is the best, or maybe I just say that because I can never remember the trails anyway with practice.

I've never been to Dunkeld, so it'll be completely blind to me. Need to pull my finger out because I'm nowhere near fit enough for a 2 day race at present!

I did my first race of the year, and the first one in about 9 months & made a solid hash of it.

Actually thats slightly harsh on myself, the first 3 stages I was 2nd, 3rd & 4th on, which I was pretty happy about, as I (very) rarely ever go to Bike Park Wales & really don’t know where I am going.

Where I cocked up, was I didn’t ride the ugly, long 6 minute stage first. I saved it to last & by then the middle of it was smashed to bits, which wasn’t ideal, but the problem came when I dropped my chain, about 1 minute in. I had to run & scoot my way through the middle, and the climb & then basically try not to brake, to lose any speed, which resulted in some near massive accidents & I lost about 40 seconds against the guys I was battling with. Ended up doing a 6min 40 stage. 😆

From a podium to just scraping a top 10. Oh well. 🤦‍♂️

Good going even so!

has anyone seen or heard anything on ardmoors, it seems ardrock have gone very quiet.

21st June then, back to BPW for some Enduro fun on a Weds... Anyone else fancy a bit of that ?

That a no then? Seems my lad can't get sign off for it so I'll be flying solo

has anyone seen or heard anything on ardmoors, it seems ardrock have gone very quiet.

On sale this weekend for racing 10/11 June

Unfortunately it falls after Dunkeld, Boltby, Graythwaite and Dyfi, so I've got no interest in adding another race weekend to that period. Shame, as I've never got round to doing Ard Moors.

Unfortunately it falls after Dunkeld, Boltby, Graythwaite and Dyfi,

What is on at Dyfi? Are they hosting an event?

National enduro champs. Dyfi forest, not the bike park

@mark88, yeah i'm struggling on ardmoors too, love the event ridden it 3 maybe 4 times, its a tough weekend if you practise fully and then race day. prefer the riding over ardrock, and i missed it last year

I'm cycling leeds to hull the monday afternoon for ferry and then riding 3 days in holland, then back friday and hoping to meet my mates in spain for a few days sun/drinking. doing boltby and pmba in the run up too.
pmba ae 2 weeks later ,

shame it not after ardrock as my calendar is free for 8 weeks then

whilst keeping my s.o. happy

looks impossible.

@whatyadoinsucka sods law isn't it. I've got that crazy busy few weeks which comes too early for me to be race fit! Then nothing until end of August.

The only other race I fancy is the Manx 2 day which clashes with a mate's wedding.

Dunkeld this weekend for me, anyone else riding?

I've had things on every weekend recently and have struggled for bike time. Just checked Strava all I've done in the last two months is a couple of after work rides totalling 3 hours.

This weekend is going to be purely survival. I've never ridden Dunkeld so just looking forward to getting some saddle time on new trails.

Dunkeld was next level. Two massive days (32km 1,160m and 38km 1430m), and some of the most technically demanding stages I've ever raced. Riding them blind was interesting and definitely put me beyond my comfort zone at times but I really enjoyed it. Hopefully someone is willing to take it on so the event continues going forwards.

Graythwaite stage 6 - New stage at Graythwaite looks good.

Hopefully someone is willing to take it on so the event continues going forwards.

I saw this mentioned on a youtube video from the race at the weekend. What's the story?

10 and done, don't believe there's any sort of drama behind it. There's a worrying lack of races in Scotland now though, although I did notice that there was also a race at Glenlivet at the weekend (good work avoiding the clash organisers). Mind you, also noticed that Tweedlove seem desperate for entries for their race next weekend - all a bit odd at the moment.

I just did the Saturday at Dunkeld as the 1 day format worked best for me. Was good fun, although only doing half went it wasn't as big a day out as last year. That did free up some beer garden time afterwards mind you

There’s a worrying lack of races in Scotland

Yes. Extremely disappointing that ESO took over the SES and haven't bothered with it this year

The race at Glenlivet was the first round of the local Doon tha Brae events. I think there's another 3 this year with Aboyne, Pitfichie and maybe Tarland.

By all accounts really good events.

TweedLove this weekend is an odd one. It was originally meant to be in Kinlochleven (anyone remember the Dudes' November enduros there? I'm still traumatised from taking my StumpJumper with all of 120mm travel down that the first year!).

They had to move it back to Tweed valley a couple of months ago (I think it was talked about somewhere I this thread). I suspect some people have dropped out with the move and many will have not entered the original as Kinlochleven is a long way to travel for many folks.

It should be a good event though - Golfie is always fun!

Had to drop out of dunkeld- broke my wrist last year and tweaked it in stage 2 doing basically nothing! Pretty annoyed tbh, I was riding like shit but even so the event seemed ace and it's such a gorgeous area. On the plus side I went and looked at some big trees, watched mad people jumping into the river at the hermitage, and had a lovely snooze in the sun in the woods. Hope the person who went in the helicopter is OK?

Quite funny how "blind racing" works out in a location like dunkeld though, I think I literally only spoke to a single person all day that hadn't ridden the stages or raced the race before... Actually heard someone complaining about people who didn't know the trails holding him up, apparently that's unfair 😉

euain
Full Member

They had to move it back to Tweed valley a couple of months ago (I think it was talked about somewhere I this thread). I suspect some people have dropped out with the move and many will have not entered the original as Kinlochleven is a long way to travel for many folks.

Yeah, I was entered but only because I wanted to race kinlochleven again, it's a real shame it couldn't work. (I can't be the only person thinking No Fuss overcame landowner issues by just not asking?) I hear a lot of people complaining about "another golfy race" but it's a totally sensible move, they basically had to conjure up a new race in a short time so it couldn't make more sense.

Am I right that this is the first time they've had the full face rule? That'll definitely put people off, whe

The impression I got is that the Dunkeld organisers have done it for 10 years now and decided that is enough. There is talk of it continuing if someone else is willing to run it.

Shame about no SES - I tried contacting them to see if they were doing anything this year and they didn't respond. Would have been nice of them to communicate so people can factor that into their plans. Hopefully they come back with a full series next year.

Tweedlove potentially just struggling with timing. Lots of other races on at the moment, so yet another Golfie race with their full face rule means it's low down the order for me.

What are the Aberdeenshire series events like? I haven't heard anything about them but some of their dates could work for me.

Quite funny how “blind racing” works out in a location like dunkeld though, I think I literally only spoke to a single person all day that hadn’t ridden the stages or raced the race before 🙂

I'd never even been to Dunkeld before. So I'm the true winner.

Day two did have a few fresh sections, but yes, there is significant local advantage on blind rocky trails.

I'd have happily raced day two as a one day event, with a day of practice. Trails were unreal.

Am I right that this is the first time they’ve had the full face rule? That’ll definitely put people off

Yes, new rule this year. and one I completely disagree with. I bought an enduro lid for EWS and would be very surprised if I ever wear it again.

Knowing several Scottish enduro organisers, there does seem to be a few who have simply decided to give it up for various reasons, with nobody willing to step in.

Increased bureaucracy with land owners is a growing issue.
FLS have moved the goalposts yet again, meaning getting permissions for future races is looking quite problematic, unless you have a very good relationship with local managers.
Private landowners vary from very helpful, to ensuring they get their pound of flesh (or simply moving the goalposts after agreements are in place).

Insurance/Liability is pushing organisers to go against their own views/risk assessments.

Costs are continually going up with organisers stuck between that eating into their profits, and passing on the full costs.
FLS have put their levies up for events, but not as much as Forestry England who have moved to a percentage of entry fee charge.

In short, organising enduros is currently a very stressful job, with questionable returns for the effort/stress involved.

I personally have a couple ideas for Scottish races, but I know I just currently don't have the time to implement them, and I personally wouldn't want to take on all the risk. I have had a couple informal chats with people though, and there are plans to have further chats when things are a bit quieter to see if they could be workable.

Was just looking at the next Haibike minienduro at BPW on Wild Wednesdays.

A few different trails thrown in for this one with Dai-hard and Snakebite being the main 2 new ones, rim dinger is in there too i think as well as Pandoras Rocks... I've not ridden Dai Hard before (unless i did it many many years ago maybe) and not sure i have the qualifier in me lol. We're there a week or so before, so i may need to get the teen to tow me in if i'm going to enter.

Mind you, also noticed that Tweedlove seem desperate for entries for their race next weekend

Already been mentioned above but no chance I'd be doing a full day at the Golfie whilst wearing a full face lid, and I personally know several lads who've said they won't enter any more tweedlove events while they're mandatory

AHH the old full face shenanigans

TBH it's something you just get used to easily enough, and I say that as a sweaty bloke with big hair

600 of people at the last tweedlove managed it fine

Yeah I've no issue doing a big day at the Golfie in my full facer. On the other hand I wonder if we're also back into the "well I ride here for free all the time anyway, why would I want to pay to ride here this time" argument that you used to hear

Not an enduro, but to fill some of the gap, along with some others who help at our club, we're putting on a Mini-DH for U10 to U16 kids at the Lecht Ski Centre in just over a month.  Chairlift, cafe, toilets, tons of parking and a fun track which will be aimed as an entry-level event for kids looking to maybe race an SDA in a few years.

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/281465/Lecht-Mini-DH---Race-the-Worlds-North-East-Qualifier

I've just signed up to race the Welsh Enduro series at Llandegla. Was supposed to be doing the Mini enduro night race thee last November but damaged the tendons in my left ankle a couple of weeks before the race.

I fancy the Llangollen round too, want to wait and see how the ankle holds up to the easier tracks first though.

my calendar has changed so doing ardmoors, race only, no practise, a friend wants to join me, so any spare tickets for full event, give us a shout ,

pmba lakes this weeekend.. not sure ,survive is my only thought

Has anyone raced Llandegla before? What's it like? I've done the trail centre once, about 10 years ago and can't remember there being much elevation or trails that would be worth racing.

I'll be at Graythwaite too. 8 stages sounds like a big day out!