[Closed] XC Riding/Racing

I suspect the vast majority of the 'single race' crew take part at their local event and none of the others.

They're doing it with their mates for a 'laugh' and probably on trails they already know - they're not in 'the series' as such.

I'm one of those who only entered 1 this year. I had intended to race every round though, but illness and lack of fitness at the right time put paid to that. I was at every race though as both my wife and son raced every round.

I like the buzz of xc and enjoy the variety of the courses and the differing challenges they offer. I know I am better on a hilly course and suffer on flat courses, but still enjoy the race regardless. I think the courses are generally good and the timing 'just' works for us as I race in the open/vet/etc race that immediately follows the womens race, but this can be tight for keeping an eye on the kids if the laps er on the long side. Technically - they seem fine to me, but I don't know what the other regional series are like for comparison.

I don't think a marathon event is needed. There are plenty of those or longer endurance events. XC for me is about going out for a day where all of us can get a short hard race in.

We all intend to be there for the lot next year, so good to see you taking this on.

Cheers guys.

I think you're right wwaswas and Yak, it's great to hear that you and your family are enjoying the racing - it'll be good see you back for next year!

Keep the thoughts rolling...

In simple terms for me, it was just too damn hard mate. Along with being at the wrong time of year. I don't get why XC racing is always in the dead of winter on cold wet horrible days. Why no-one does a normal shorter distance XC race series in summer down Gorrick way is truly beyond me. I don't want to be standing round in the cold and wet before my race, shivering, freezing and wiping the fog off my glasses. I want to be sitting in the sun relaxing while I wait. Getting my cleanish bike at the end and putting back in the car.

The racing is tough, horrifically tough and I didn't have the mental capacity to go through it time and time again, the race itself only being a fraction of it, the fact is, every ride has to be an XC race when you're training for XC racing.

It's great that you're offering to step up to promote the races, thanks.

Look at the figures the other way: 50% of people did two or more rounds. That's pretty impressive. I think 10% of people doing every round isn't bad going either.

I sort of intended to do the whole series but only did three races in the end (plus five or so Beastway, one or two Eastern series and the odd other non-ranking race). It's possible that a series of six races spread over six months requires a huge commitment from a rider to stay on form for that period. Therefore only the super-keen will do all six and less committed will dip in and out looking for either one or two good results, to race on a favourite course or just come to the local venues.

If you want more people to do the whole series you might want to consider compressing it into four or five months but I know there would be other effects of that.

Good luck though.

I've done a few Gorricks in the past but it was an hour's drive each way, plus faffing/practice time for an hour and a half-ish of racing. I needed to have the whole day free pretty much.

The Spring series was more Winter than Spring as well, so dragging myself out in the cold and wet didn't really appeal either.

Look at the Newbury Summer CX (which I know you're involved in) - warm summer evening, local event, minimum time commitment. Not that I've ever managed to get to one as my Thursdays tend to get booked up with other things!

If you are not local, travelling for 4hrs to ride 1:15 is a bit of a faff. Travelling for 6 hours to enjoy a 24hr with good facilities is fine, traveling for an hour regularly for 1:15 is fine. Add also the "only 5 rounds of seven count to your position" rule - for example I missed a round of mud sweat and gears near Ipswich because it would have been 5.5hrs of driving, and I can afford to miss it an not affect my results.

Add to that your own reasoning - there are those that will race anything, some that pick and choose their courses, others have families etc.

The reason I race XC only now and again is because of course design and my XC fitness compared to my fellow racers.

Getting over taken up hill then having to cue/walk technical sections is what I have experienced in the past. Course design would help but if I'm honest I'm not the type of rider your events are aimed at.

Good on ou for stepping up. I'm envious of you Southern lot and the numbers you get to race against. Think the most I raced against was 20 last year (welsh league sports cat). Reckon there was a 'die hard' half a dozen that I saw at every sports cat race. This was my first full year of racing since a teenager and I did them all even though 2 required overnight stays, I hope to do the same next year.

Logistical reasons for not attending:
distance - but to be honest from what I can see a lot of yours are closish? I'd happily drive 1.5hrs without thinking, 2hrs probably, which i think would get anywhere in your region.

time - weekends get booked up. My wife seemed a bit disconcerted when I announced yesterday I'd be doing the uk series as well as the welsh next year! 😆

money - it's quite a commitment in terms of petrol, entries, accom, food, gels/energy drinks.

illness/inguries/equipment failure

when you factor all that in over several months its quite a feat to manage to do them all.

In simple terms for me, it was just too damn hard mate. Along with being at the wrong time of year. I don't get why XC racing is always in the dead of winter on cold wet horrible days. Why no-one does a normal shorter distance XC race series in summer down Gorrick way is truly beyond me. I don't want to be standing round in the cold and wet before my race, shivering, freezing and wiping the fog off my glasses. I want to be sitting in the sun relaxing while I wait. Getting my cleanish bike at the end and putting back in the car.

The racing is tough, horrifically tough and I didn't have the mental capacity to go through it time and time again, the race itself only being a fraction of it, the fact is, every ride has to be an XC race when you're training for XC racing.

This.

The reason I race XC only now and again is because of course design and my XC fitness compared to my fellow racers.

Getting over taken up hill then having to cue/walk technical sections is what I have experienced in the past. Course design would help but if I'm honest I'm not the type of rider your events are aimed at.

And this.

I think I did two. Broke my bike twice, which didn't help. I'd rather go out on a road ride (that's saying something for me!)

Weeksy, the southern xc series ran from March until mid August. Not what I call Winter?

I rode all except one round this year (which I missed because I was ill). I think the southern series is really good. Best regional series in the country in my opinion.

Must have not been aware mate as I've only ever done gorricks

I do a lot less traditional xc racing than I used to and tbh I find it too expensive to do regularly. I do the longer endurance and marathon types as you get way more riding for your cash. The southern xc races would of cost somewhere in the region of £25 for about an hour and a bit riding. I can do a 12 race at 24/12 for less than £50 and have 3 or 4 nights camping.

Also, mud sweat and gears has run monthly from March to September and Beastway from May to July. MSG have just started a South East series albeit winter also.

My 2penneth - I did my first SXC races this year and did 2 rounds and intended to do more but crashed hard on a technical section and injured myself at the second one. For XC I just found the odd feature too tough (cf. ran out of skill) when on a race geometry hard tail in competitive race conditions. For me it is just too much risk (job/family wise) to turn a corner on a trail and hit a technical feature (with no chicken run in that case) at race pace.

I love the fitness requirement and balls-out effort but not the random features more suited to being part of an enduro course. So marathon probs more my thing (or road but been there done that and, if not dicing with rush-hour traffic, find it boring) where losing a bit of time on a feature can be recouped on a long climb.

I have nothing but respect for the guys and gals that race XC to a high level - massive balls and lungs like bellows! Can't knock the organisation or anything about really - just my ability and amount of risk of injury I can take.

Which course/feature medders, out of interest? I don't remember any of the technical features not having chicken runs in the ones I did.

Adam, as you know me, there's a likelihood I'll come along, but rest assured (or not) there's nothing you could do or not do that will influence that.

Personally I like easier courses, because I'm not that good, but hitting that gap jump log drop thing at Wasing was very satisfying!

because I'm not that good

If find this very offensive seeing as I'm currently trying very hard to be as crap as you. 😉

I've always thought multi line, dual slalom style downhills would be really cool. Imagine taking a gamble on a line through the trees and seeing your fellow competitors smashing down alternative lines beside you.

One of my problems with xc racing is that you can spend an aweful lot of time suffering in solitude. Making a course more like a cx course could be cool but with more extreme features to reflect the capabilities of the bike.

The Eliminator series that the UCI ran in previous years could provide an epic day's racing too.

Good luck with it and keep us all informed.

Hey really good luck. Variation over a series strikes me as a good thing. Btw I have a amazing venue if you're interested in the Cotswolds. Prime private estate location, never raced I have two amazing 10k laps plus lots of variation. Drop me a line, I'd love to help.

Thing is xc courses should be both physically tough and technically demanding (though with b-lines to avoid accidents like above as much as possible). Did you not pre-ride the course? Watering them down would lessen the appeal IMO. Need a couple of sections to scare you or make you think and enough hills that you can't walk properly on Monday!

I know what you mean about suffering in solitude, happens to me a lot. I don't mind that though, I see it as a personal challenge,if I'm reducing my percentage off the winning time on roots and rain I'm happy!

It seems to me that xc racing is less popular that the longer sportive type rides or 24hr races. I guess with the longer rides they are even more of a one off.

If find this very offensive seeing as I'm currently trying very hard to be as crap as you.

Haha, thanks! It's relative, obviously, but I'm definitely not a strong descender at all, I just don't enjoy scary technical features!

I do the Gorrick torq in your sleep every year and that's just about pushing my limits but I have the advantage of living there so I know the tracks. I would love to do xc events but as an ordinary rider the course needs to be doable - I have to walk away and go to work the next day.
What would convince me to take the plunge would be flowing tracks with no surprises and plenty of categories to suit all ages/abilities.
And as mentioned previously let's have more events in the decent weather!

Normally my wife and me do quite a few of the rounds, but the change of times this year for the lady's races meant that we couldn't both race if we had our kids with us. My wife did two rounds, I did one. I think in previous years we have done 3 or 4 each. It isn't really worth us both spending the day going to the race for only one of us to take part. I think we are the exception where we both race, so don't worry about changing the times just for us!

Personally I think the extra technical features are appropriate in a regional XC race.

Given the choice it would be great to have a series where each event is slightly different. So maybe one a normal xc race, the next event 3-4 hours, then a xc eliminator event, maybe a night race? but I guess that would be tough to arrange and doesn't fit in with BC guide lines for a regional xc series.

Would it not be possible to integrate something like a 4h race within the timetable from this years Southern XC races?
If a 4h race were to start at about 10 just after the Junior and Youth categories it would be finished by the time the Elite/Expert/Sport Men went out at 14:00.
Not sure how practical it would be or if it would be workable at all though.

Good for you Adam and good luck. To a certain extent if it ain't broke don't fix it!

Perhaps another suvey of the 2015 would provide additonal data?

I think the sxc crew have listened to the wider audience and considered the difection xc racing is heading i.e. Shorter aggresive/technical courses. And some of the courses have been developing to suit e.g. Wasing has seen remarkable development since it was first used (with a,b and c lines). I believe the regional races should always provide that first step to national races and the sxc series achieves that.

On the technical front, most rounds did not include features that were techically or mentally challengining i.e. Are actually quite easy once you put your brave pants on (see njees comment on the wasing log drop). However, technical difficulty does and shouldn't come down to 'features', i have long argued that even sherwood becomes challenging when you are hitting the singletrack at warp speed. And so in that respect, bordon and black park were not technically dificult but became difficult when hitting single track at race speed. Another elite rider once said "your racing the series, not just one race". Ypu will never design a race course that everyone likes nor suits everyone. So a series that challenges all types of riders will determine the best (actually phill pearce will beat us all but he's special).

Xc is about the 1.5hr duration which allows BC sanctioning. But i think it would be intersting to mix in a marathon. I love the idea of multi lines as has been used at the german world cup (i think). For me, xc racing holds so kuch more interest than road racing as it provides an environment ideal for families. Shorter courses closer to population centres to encourage spectators? Exhibition races on technical town centres? Bouncy castle hire for the kids? Liaison with country fairs/exhibitions e.g. Newbury show ground (course may not be technical but if crowds start cheering then racers get in the mood). Commentator (come on njee).

Brain dump over. Good luck and see you at the races

@Jason - a bigger gap after the ladies race would be better though. It can just work for us as it stands as my wife races 3 laps in vets. Any longer and it will definitely overlap the open/vet race.

I'm sure there are plenty more families where everyone races too.

For me it distance, and how spread out they are. Selfish I'd like more within an hour of Southampton please. That's why I tend to do the gorricks more regularly than sxc. I also think every fortnight during a coup,e of summer months would be easier to commit to. Often I am looking for races during the summer months when there seem to be far fewer than winter weekends. Also The cost of repairs, I'm running at around an average of £75 in repairs post race this year, I've been pretty unlucky but add to entry and petrol it is on average £100 a race. This makes TT at an average cost of £3 look a bargain.....

Commentator (come on njee)

I could be persuaded to dig out my microphone again 🙂

Over the years I've done the full Southern XC series and also some years just one or two.... or none

A big thing for me is travel time vs race time ... driving 4 hrs to race 1.5 hours is the wrong ratio... as others have said if it was a 6hr / 12hr / 24hr the driving to riding ratio gets much better

One thing that stands out to me is the popularity of cyclocross and Crit racing in the south east .... always busy and always the same faces week in week out ... the racing is extremely accessible, local and often better value than an MTB race.

It would be very interesting to do rider postcode analysis on races / venues !!

Which course/feature medders, out of interest? I don't remember any of the technical features not having chicken runs in the ones I did

It was porridgepot. Steep lose downhill bit after a section of single track by a fence about half a mile or so round. Had done a practice lap fine but race pace - missed the best line - stack. Had there been a chicken run would I have taken it? Did it need one? No idea. But 3 days in hospital, 8 days off work and 3 weeks off the bike makes me think twice about doing it again. Shame as the previous round at bordon was the most fun I have ever had on a bike.

Maybe I will grow a pair and some skill and try again next year.

Hello Adam,

It's great that you're keeping it going. I'll certainly try and do some. I always did when I lived in London. I recognize your name too so I think that I've raced against you at some point! I think that the point about cyclo cross racing is a valid point. I've always classed myself as a mountain biker but this year I have raced more cross. The Bristol evening summer league in short. In fact after the Battle of the Beach and the pembrey series most of the races I've done have been cross. They're excellent value, the timing chip at the Bristol series is great too. Numbers are also growing! The Welsh league will be massive this year I reckon.

Distance is a factor and so too is the timing of the race. It's difficult for me as a dad of two who works most weekends to get away on a Sunday and to hang around fro a race that kicks-off at 2pm. I like to get my racing done early and be back at a sensible hour. Then again not everyone likes to get up at 5am to drive to a race for a 10am start so that maybe unpopular!

The Pembrey winter series was great this year and it is fantastic that Matt Page is kicking off the nationals with a round down there at the start of April. It's a great venue with fantastic trails and well organised. Difficult though to get season long momentum when so many of us have other commitments. Any ideas of venues yet?

Not much help really. From my perspective though, great courses, with slick timing and early starts would get my vote!

Matt

Mainly done SXC's this year, 3x, plus one NEXC and the National...ran by SXC. Not relevant to you southerners but hell, here's my two pence worth.

Missed most of the NEXC one's because they were on a Friday night, impossible to attend, the other two were at the weekend but missed the last one due to illness. One missed SXC due to a broken bike, one missed due to a wedding.

I wanted to do another National but as I'm only racing Sport it's not possible due to working most Saturday's now, Saturday's are a pain for a lot of people!!

As has been said above it can start turning into big mileage to attend most races (especially the Scottish one's!) and if people have kids it's quite a commitment, it's a tricky balance trying to maintain a good fitness level when the races seem to be every 5 weeks but I personally don't think I could wangle a pass if they were closer together! You might also struggle for marshals if they were closer together?

One thing that really winds me up as a racer (Lolz) though is chicken lines that aren't a lot slower than the racing line, really ****s me off!

Blimey, thanks for all the responses, please keep them coming as they're really appreciated!

I've read all replies, will send a couple of emails and will keep a copy of this thread as a reminder of what the riders want.

As soon as I have confirmed dates and venues I'll let you all know.

And Njee, I remembered how chuffed you were clearing that gap/log thing at Wasing - I thought you were going to climb off there and then just in case something went wrong and ruined your day!

Cheers

Thought I'd add my 2p's worth- I'm more in the mould of a rider like ScottF (but far more average all round), and I'm very much an occasional XC racer. I've mainly done gorricks, and have preferred the autumn ones when the weather is a bit better, which I think helps a lot to encourage the casual racer. I guess though that shorter races in the winter are a way of getting some racing continuity throughout the year, with longer summer events?

I'm also very into the idea of a/b/c lines, but make sure they are increasingly slower lines! I tend to be a better descender/technical rider and there should be a pay-off for those abilities as part of the 'ideal' all-round skills that distinguish a mountain bike rider from the 'ideal' skills of a Road/CX riders.

Another idea- the idea of a marathon stage could be a possibility, especially in the lighter months. Having really enjoyed the recent Epic Cymru, could the format of a long route with XC 'stages' during the whole ride be a possibility? Involving both overall time and stage times?

I hope you are successful in this, as I've always enjoyed/learned a lot from racing. I think XC racing offers a lot, but (IMO) a current issue is the way a lot of contemporary riders perceive competition; across cycle sport in general, the most popular forms, Road Sportives, 'distance' enduros and 'gravity' enduros, the results are based on (chipped) timing, rather than first over the line, and this is supported by the popularity of Strava, etc. There might be something in either re-emphasising the unique nature of racing for first over the line, or considering both forms of measuring competition in different categories? (A bit like how Gorrick has both 'age' and 'skill' categories?)

How about a discount for entering the series up front. Something like enter all 5 (?) And only pay for 4. Gorrick used to do this back in the day, and I'd always sign up. If you've already signed up and paid you're more likely to go.

pete68,
What kind of discount would you be looking for to sign up for the full series up front?

How would you deal with refunds if say you only did one round then got injured?

Edit: sorry Adam_Buckland for hijacking for my own gain 😈

It was porridgepot. Steep lose downhill bit after a section of single track by a fence about half a mile or so round.

Oh yeah someone broke their leg on that in the sport/expert/elite race. Hope it wasn't you.

How about a discount for entering the series up front. Something like enter all 5 (?) And only pay for 4. Gorrick used to do this back in the day, and I'd always sign up. If you've already signed up and paid you're more likely to go.

I'm pretty sure that they did that this year for the Southern XC series.

I have done a few XC races in the past (never Southern XC though), I stopped because I wasn't challenging for the win and the courses weren't particularly difficult or exciting, so it becomes paying to ride an uninspiring course for 1.5 hours. For me this is the biggest draw of enduro, getting to ride trails you usually wouldn't be able to.

I had planned to ride Southern rounds this year but struggled to get to the races without a car.

Good luck, hopefully I will make it to a few races next year.

A big thing for me is travel time vs race time ... driving 4 hrs to race 1.5 hours is the wrong ratio... as others have said if it was a 6hr / 12hr / 24hr the driving to riding ratio gets much better

This for me - I do pretty much all the Gorricks as they are on my doorstep, not so inclined to trek further for a short ride.

So that means I would tend to do the closer SXC rounds only, but then the problem of gridding arises - if you haven't done previous rounds then you could have up to 40 riders gridded in front of you depending on category. I'm not going to threaten the podium or even the top 10 in my category (Vets), but last time I did an SXC round I ran out of race before I really got clear of slower riders.

I'm not saying it shouldn't be like that or should be changed, it's entirely fair to those who have raced previous rounds. But it does put me off doing occasional rounds that I might otherwise do. Not such a problem in the Gorricks, as they only grid the top 10.

Having said that, I'm hoping to make some rounds in 2016. Good luck and thanks for taking it on 🙂

I echo everyone around distance and cost etc. I think though there needs to be something done to the cats to produce close racing for all. I used to race all the time but haven't as much last year or so due to comitments so easier to ride local but back at the gorrick next year as a vet. I think people would have more interest if they were in a race that they had a chance of winning. I have won races before at gorrick in masters but have also been hammered at others. Could you do your own Cat points system that would promote close racing and interest for all. for me personally I wouldn't care if I was sprinting to the line against a 70 year expert old or a junior if it meant it was a close race.

Oh yeah someone broke their leg on that in the sport/expert/elite race. Hope it wasn't you

Thankfully not - cracked ribs and a punctured lung for me. Carried on for a bit before deciding to retire and go home.

This thread has made me want to have another crack at it next season.

Up front payment for all rounds with a discount is a sound idea. As is including a marathon type race event at the same time or following the main races(although the logistics of this may be a nightmare) for those who want a longer day riding.

I sometimes do short course XC races (in the north if that matters) - the things keeping me from doing a full series are...

- too far to travel to some
- work
- family commitments
- getting ill

I prefer a more technical course but it's not a deal breaker if a course is dull - I like the fitness/racing side of it as much as the actual riding.

Oh yeah someone broke their leg on that in the sport/expert/elite race. Hope it wasn't you.

Ah yes, Paul Lloyd wasn't it? Chap who was winning loads of expert races. Tough luck for him given his obvious form. Didn't make that round, but doesn't sound great! Obviously just one of those features that slipped through the net, as most were well signed IMO.

Thanks again for all the feedback.

some really interesting points, re categories, we have some scope for flexibility but are largely guided by BC, would you be happy to share the course and start at the same time (if BC allow) so you had a closer race, albeit with a rider from a different cat?

The marathon event; I was thinking of a marathon round, with a fixed time/distance based on category with it's own date and venue or would you rather see it on the same date and venue as a 'normal' xc round?

Keep it coming...

Family life allows me a race once a month. I'll travel up to a couple of hours for a 6hr race and I'll do local XC (Banjo Rampage is 10minutes away). That means I'd do the Southern XC at Checkendon but I doubt I'll do the others whatever you do.

Would love a marathon round

Its a shame you cant change Cats because of BC. I think if you just join cats together on the track it would just cause confusion to who you are actually racing against. If there was a cat system in place it would provide close racing for a win and real interest series points and progressing up the scale

The more positive spin might be to ask why did/ do people attend the existing XC races, be it SXC/ Gorrick/ whatever?

To a large extent you won't be able to control people's other commitments, illness or inclination to ride a short time for a long journey or whatever the general comments are.

What excites/ motivates/ rewards people attending a certain race or series?

Really fair point DanW, I've not intended to be anything but positive however your post is exactly what I was trying to ask.

What excites/ motivates/ rewards people attending a certain race or series?

why did/ do people attend the existing XC races

For me, I love the buzz of racing, a chance to push myself harder than I would just riding along, and at higher intensity than I would in a endurance race.

And as I've been racing a while, I've got to know enough of the other racers to make it pretty sociable too.

Also, entering an event is a good motivator for getting out and riding when you might otherwise decide not to bother - this particularly applies to races outside of summer when the weather isn't great.

To some extent SXC races suffer a bit as they are largely in the good weather months (to the extent that exists in the UK!) - the temptation is just to go for an all-day ride instead. For the Gorrick Spring Series, if the weather is rubbish then I'll be satisfied with blasting round for 90 minutes then getting back inside.

What excites/ motivates/ rewards people attending a certain race or series?

The motivation to ride the a Southern series as opposed to any Gorrick races is mainly due to them not being Gorrick races!
I know that many people like and enjoy the Gorrick events but I really don't enjoy them. The Southerns on the other hand I find to be more enjoyable courses at more interesting venues and better organised.

Really fair point DanW, I've not intended to be anything but positive however your post is exactly what I was trying to ask.

Same thing but maybe a way to get some different input towards the same goal 😀

To be honest, what motivates me is feeling I've achieved something, having a great ride (good trails), being sociable and not feeling like a burden on the family. Actually, not that easy to pin down how to improve any of those areas from an event organiser point of view!

If you can reward mid pack mediocrity, put together a great course, force some of my lazy friends to also come and situate it all near a big John Lewis then I think I'd (and the family would) be happy 😀

In all honesty it is no small task to organise an XC series and every idea I've typed I end up deleting as I can see it wouldn't work for many people and ends up looking silly 😕 It is easy to criticize but hard to be constructive and specific in the improvements. Wishing you all the best for the project

Hoping to get along this year. Boys are now old enough to race and be left alone with a bottle of pop whilst I 'race' so it's on the cards - lack of time prevented me till now.

There have been a few mentions or kids racing, the current standard is really good but some of the other regions offer go ride coaching from BC for the children while the adults races are on - this maybe helps in a couple of areas as the children will hopefully learn new skills and be occupied while parents ride

What do you think?

Re. why do you race: its a good challenge, decent bit of adrenaline, good and sociable scene, the chance to go full blat round decent trails without worying about surprise walkers/dos as much.

I don't have kids but can imagine a linked go-ride would be a great idea.

Another ting is if possible to make the courses more spectator friendly, passing through the arena a couple of times during the lap. Clearly this isn't possible all the time.

Adam - we (Pedal 2 Pedal) are a kids club with a BC coach. I'll send an email, although our coach may have been in touch already.

Adam - your email bounced. Pls email me - in profile. Cheers

Hi Yak,

If just updated it, I hoped I'd get there before you. I'll email you now

Cheers

Adam

thanks. re-sent

Just on the subject of categories, as a casual racer I find it quite confusing when races offer age cats [i]and [/i]ability ones.

In contrast to the poster above, I don't need to feel like I could win - just that I'm in a clearly defined grouping and I'll get some decent racing. I'm capable of adjusting my expectations when I see who else is on the start line and how skinny they are.

My 2p's worth

I've ridden a few of the Gorricks and always do the Thetford winter series. Also a few nationals and quite a few MSG's as well. The long running issue I had with the Gorrick and Thetford races was that they didn't allow you to score any BC points which for me at the time was a biggy - I was trying to move up a category and therefore a whole day out, combined with the expense and normally the damage to your bike (Tunstall forest in the rain anyone?) meant that it wasn't worth the effort compared with say a few hours decent training on the road bike ready for either MSG or the Nats.

I also like the courses technical (not to say I'm some sort of hero on the technical stuff) as especially in the lower category it levels the field a bit. Expert and Elite are all fast regardless of the terrain, but in Sport you find a lot of roadies coming in who just bury people on the non-technical bits then sit up on the tight stuff. More tech means they have to try harder which in turn gives me (sometimes) a chance to catch up and stop breathing out my arse.

Problem is, you can't please all of the people all of the time. What suits me wouldn't suit someone else. However there are some really good tracks out there (one of the MSG's held at a farm that has the BMX track in the middle?) that are suitable for both beginners and the other end of the spectrum. I've always liked the Gorrick courses, its just a shame they're not BC affiliated.

@chakaping

I think that BC were right when they ditched masters. Now it is just ability orientated from 18-40. The only confusion is that you get people who could happily race sport racing fun/open with the thought of a podium.

Some vets are frighteningly fast though, so I guess you could argue the vet cat could be removed too, but i guess splitting up the fields mean less congestion on the course at the start.

its just a shame they're not BC affiliated.

+1

I'm not sure it is a shame that Gorrick aren't BC-affiliated, there are pros and cons. I suspect non-affiliation allows Gorrick to make their events more attractive to the casual rider, which is why attendances are high but a bit light at the top ability categories.

Although I wouldn't presume to speak for Gorrick.

All this is a bit irrelevant to Southern XC though, as they are part of the regional BC structure. Unless Adam is considering de-affiliating?

I'd hope there is room for both affiliated and non-affiliated series to be healthy.

There have been a few mentions or kids racing, the current standard is really good but some of the other regions offer go ride coaching from BC for the children while the adults races are on - this maybe helps in a couple of areas as the children will hopefully learn new skills and be occupied while parents ride

What do you think?

I think that's a great idea. Mrs B is done with racing (so she says....) so I'd like to make it a proper day off for her - but 3 boys 5-9 need supervision of some sort if I'm off for an hour or so.
Not looking for babysitting, but if there is something going on they can get into it could work. I suspect I'm not alone in this.

Hi Adam, have raced Southern XC for the last couple of years after 11 years off short course racing doing longer events or not racing at all.

I was attracted back by the prospect of more competitive racing but even better, I found was that the courses have been the real hook that keep bringing me back. Add me to the list of people chuffed to come back and clear that gap jump at Wasing this year. The ability to ride tech features where pure roadies cannot is a differentiator for mountain biking!

Pushing yourself against a decent sized field of competitive but good spirited riders, on a technically challenging but enjoyable course, going balls out for 1.5 hours is pretty addictive.

From what I've seen, the range of venues provides variation between truly short flat sprint courses, technical venues and big old climby courses. I think this is essential to mix it up for everyones' strengths and weaknesses.

I come to an XC race for the format, so I'm not particularly interested in a marathon type race; there's already lots about. I think all the focus should be on making the short course races as good as they can possibly be.

Apart from the race itself, things that make a difference to my enjoyment are:

Race timetable - my wife races before me and we have little kids, so I have to be sure she'll finish her race before I start mine! This works whilst we're not in back to back races.

Logistics - the courses can't be too far away; I'm pretty lucky that all the venues are within 2 hours from Swindon.

Ease of parking etc - This generally isn't an issue unless the weather is bad but being parked in a long grassed boggy field, far from the race start is a challenge when you're there all day for multiple races, especially with children. Amazing how easy Bordon was for example, despite the weather.

Kids racing - My kids are really young (just turned 3) but already want to race. Just a little skills session for the really young ones would be a nice touch. Challenge is if you're in the last race, it's a long day if you have to get there so early for the kids.

Great news that the series will live on, will do my best to support the series wherever possible. Each round is now a fixture in our family calendar.