Anyone else feel that the overtaking at Bikefest from some riders this year was utterly disgraceful if you were riding solo? I ended up in Bristol BRI A & E with a dislocated shoulder and a smashed up leg and arm from a ridiculous overtaking move on one of the fastest sections. For me this year was the worst I’ve ever experienced in any race. In 4 laps I got hit 3 times the last landing me in hospital. Ridiculous. I did 12 hrs at Wasing and 12hrs at Erlestoke without a single incident.

Was it molgrips?

Most of the Ashton Court stuff doesn’t allow for safe overtaking: it’s too narrow. Back in the muddy years, before the trail redevelopments, there was more room. I’m surprised people still race on it, to be honest. Think I’ll stick to Leigh Woods and 50-Acre today. Hope you heal soon, OP.

Something I spotted yesterday was bad pre overtake calling. Shouting “rider” is utterly useless and possibly counterproductive, I can’t see the reason not to shout left or right as always used to happen…….

Hope you get better soon!

Agreed Andy, it’s really not that hard a clear LEFT or RIGHT when there’s a place to pass. A reckless overtake can wreck someone’s season. I need a new helmet , kit is wrecked and I dread to think when I’ll be back on the bike. Not impressed at all.

I too am in bri a+e having stacked – I’m not sure if this is me having a touch of amnesia- was it a Vegas rider?

I think Ashton Court must bring it out in some people. I raced there years back, and had somebody yelling quite aggressively for me to move over and let him pass-we were riding through an open field at the time. The energy he used shouting probably outweighed that required to go around me (and nearly take my front wheel out, just to prove his point).
On a pedantic note, shouting “left” or “right” ,how is the rider going to know if you want to overtake on that side, or you want him to move to that side? This sort of thing needs to be made clear at the rider briefing if we’re going to avoid problems.

Yeah, It was mostly people shouting which way they wanted to go without any thought as to whether you could actually pass. I told quite a few people they would have to wait until I was ready to let em go.
There were a few sensible (and polite) ones but they were outnumbered by the nobs.

I am not doing it this year but had some close calls last year. One in particular got a good dose of verbal from me and another wiped himself out which was amusing!

Agree with alll above, a quick shout of on the left-right is all it takes and perhaps not trying to force someone off on a narrow section.

Hope you recover quickly. Did they stop?

Growing problem at all events now I find.
Common courtesy gets left at home 🙁

It did seem like team jersey wearing turned some people into angry thoughtless nobs. it wont stop me doing it (and Oktoberfest) though. I’m gonna get jersey’s made with instructions on passing politely on the back

Growing problem at all events now I find.
Common courtesy gets left at home

I might just be lucky but I’ve never had a problem at any of the events I’ve raced at.
At the Wasing 12h and Torq 12:12 last year, I was amazed at how polite riders were, not just yelling left or right as they passed but actually asking if they could get past and on which side, in some cases they’d even let you know if there was more than one of them. Each and every time, the riders would also thank me as they went past and more often than not give some words of encouragement.
I must’ve been lucky as I often hear people complaining about bad overtaking at races but I’ve only ever experienced it once.

Bike fest is the least friendly event I’ve done ,
Not had anyone knock me off but just did not seem as relaxed as the bonty 24-12
Or eaelstoke 12

I found everyone really polite when passing as I was when I overtook anyone.The ambulance was busy yesterday I saw the injured Vegas rider .I saw an injured girl waiting for the ambulance by the quarry .Does anyone know if she is ok ?

It tends to be the wannabe fast guys that do this. The real quick guys (Nick Craig springs to mind) in my experience are always polite, offer encouragement and when they do pass they are so quick they don’t hold you up and they disappear into the distance. If you are a recognised Pro you don’t want to be upsetting people and putting you sponsors in a bad light..
What cracks me up are the wannabes that bully past and then hold you up in the next technical section. At that point I take great pleasure at buzzing their back wheel and pointing out their not exactly Steve Peat!

op -that really sucks hope all get well soon, I may have passed your ambulance on my way up to watch did u get taken out of quarry gates?

bikefest has always had an issue with rudness and general discard for safety I think this should be made a mentioned point at the start briefing
iv had my good and bads if I get a lairy one il just slow down and weave a little but usualy u can here if someones riding your wheel pre letting them no when to go is a good helper for a smooth overtake it shows good sportsmanship

also caught a few teams trading bands before the transfer band before the transfer area….made it a point to say naughty then he fell over the tape on exit dident save any time atall 😆

Oh yeah and OP – Healing vibes

On a pedantic note, shouting “left” or “right” ,how is the rider going to know if you want to overtake on that side, or you want him to move to that side?

i have always been of the view that “left” is “on your left”, i.e. please move to your right and i will pass you on the left.

have always been of the view that “left” is “on your left”, i.e. please move to your right and i will pass you on the left

Which is okay if you do not have a large drop on your right like someone tried with me at 10 UTB a couple of years ago. What annoyed me about that is 10 UTB is supposed to be a weekend fun thing do the winners really get their jollies from beating guys like me. Go and do some national races and see how you get on.

Calling rider behind a slower one gives them the opportunity to choose which side to move to as a lot of the single track is tight and they have a better view being in front….also calling on your left or right will often lead to the rider in front moving left if you call on your left or right when you call on your right.

Ashton will always have overtaking issues unfortunately, considering the amount of traffic and single track out there it seems like there are less incidents than could be. Most people do take care and respect other riders, its just the odd nobber who thinks they are quick that seem to cause incident’s!?

All the best jonny360 I did see you in the main tent and you looked pretty bashed up…..hope you get back out on your bike soon.
Take care out there everyone

Shouting “RIDER” is just not good enough and will usually initiate a retort of “join the club” or “me too” from me.
I am not a quick rider these days but when I do pass slower riders I would never dream of attempting to pass unless there was suitable room and that I have given clear intructions to the rider in front of my intentions and recieved acknowledgement from them.
Simple courtesy and remembering a little etiquette seems to have gone by the wayside over recent years.
Whats worse is this inconsiderate behaviour can ruin someones race OR season.
I can only hope this behaviour can be stamped out from a sport I love and that I have been taking part in for over 25 years.
Hope you heal up quickly jonny360

Just shows the overraking rider lacks skill and experience (amongst many other things) it is not for the rider in front to move, but for the overtaking rider to do, with a clear call and they accept responsibility for both riders safety.

Which is okay if you do not have a large drop on your right like someone tried with me at 10 UTB a couple of years ago

Which is where the “please” comes in, the overtaker should not expect the slower rider to do something stupid and dangerous. If i ask left, all i mean is when it is safe can you move over, i don’t expect anyone to jump off the trail at that moment in time. Yes i know their are prats who race bikes, and it tends to be the wanna-bes not the pros. I have seen questionable moves, luckily no one got injured as a result.

What annoyed me about that is 10 UTB is supposed to be a weekend fun thing do the winners really get their jollies from beating guys like me

Its a race, first one across the line wins? So what is your point, if you are slower and your in the way they need to get past you as quickly as possible.

Jonny, I guess that was you there while I was sat with godihatehills who’d done his chin and head in. looked like you were in a lot of pain so I hope you’re recovering.

I found overtaking fine this year as usual but there will always be a few people who spoil things. ime the bike fest much better for that than other races though possibly the new singletrack making overtaking harder.

This is why all bicycles should be fitted with bells.
Just a nice tinkle on the compulsory bell to let the rider in front know you are there, and all the shouty aggression and confusion on does that mean I move to the right or they are overtaking on the right is gone.

I always use ” Can I pass when its safe ? “

Everyone is racing and its always better to let the person you are trying to pass dictate where and when is appropriate.

Calling rider has the same function as using a bell – it is done to alert the person in front that someone quicker than them is coming up and will want to pass. ‘Left’ and ‘right’ only works half the time, you’d be amazed at how many people veer left when you shout ‘On your left’. There isn’t an ideal solution, and as evidenced by one of the comments above, it is sometimes the people overtaking that come off worse…I broke my collarbone on that course a couple of years doing what should have been a safe overtake because someone belligerently took up as much of the trail as possible because they didn’t want me to pass. You’ve got a massive field of riders, some of whom are racing hard, so people are going to crash.

Most people I went past were great and urged me on – hopefully responding to the courtesy of “let me know when I can pass mate” after calling ‘rider’ from 5 metres back as an alert. People respond to ‘cheers mate, appreciate that’ too. But there were a couple of nobs who gave me backchat despite me being polite. Maybe they were smarting because a previous rider had been rude or overly aggressive when overtaking (not my problem, so don’t give me grief), or maybe they were smarting because they reckoned they are superspeedy and don’t like their ego being bruised (again, not my problem so don’t give me grief).

The experienced riders should all be overtaking safely and courteously. It is often the mid-pack heros who are unsafe. Overtaking and being overtaken – it is a two way thing.

I’m sorry to hear about the OP’s injury and best of luck for a swift recovery .

Similar story to that of gus – racing Bikefest a few years back, rider behind screaming “pro” coming through, so make way just before the quarry section (before they re-built it with new lines & smooth surface). As soon as we hit the descent I caught up to him, made my own call to be through, at which point he moved to block, did the same again at next request. Spent the rest of the descent ripping pi$$ out of his “pro” riding & took the jump line at bottom & carved across where his chicken run line would come out. Made just enough gap to hold him off on the loose climb & he was on my wheel as we entered the next singletrack descent, he shouted to be through & I ignored & charged down the descent. Made enough time that I had crossed the start/finish line before he could catch up. I always raced for fun & despise the wannabies who think they’re pro’s, but really don’t have the skills to match.
Hoping the OP makes a fast recovery.

Anyone who shouts ‘pro’ is a moron, end of.

Anyone who shouts ‘pro’ is a moron, end of.

Yes. 🙄

To be fair there were quite a few riders asking politely to be let past when safe and I did so, they always said thank you. The ones who barged and wanted to pass in entirely unsafe places are the ones who spoil it for everyone.
It was still great though and a shame for those whose day (and maybe season) was spoilt by unsporting behaviour (and don’t get me started on the change over area madness)

Ha Ha! Who on earth went around shouting ‘pro’?! Njee20 has summed that up but moron doesn’t quite do it justice. Who was it?! Jersey?

Matt

The change over area was certainly chaos for the first 2 laps .There was not a lot of room was there?

Not a lot of room and nobbers swapping bands at one end and running to the other to grab their bike at speed, then slowly riding off, wish i’d filmed a few now

The chap stopped initially but I was furious with him and let him know that. He left soon after saying I moved across the front of him!! To be fair he came up to me in the tent later when I was with the paramedic and apologised again which took balls. I don’t think he realised how bad I was. I managed to finish the lap with my shoulder popped out…adrenaline I suppose. Too scared to check my sworks…already need a new helmet.

Don’t think ill ever race there again. Shame really as I’ve always enjoyed it.

Can you get those things they had on the chariots in Ben Hur for MTBs?? Might help…

Thanks for the support guys. The rest of the team did really well. A 2nd and 6th in Old gits solo and my best mate was 2nd in SS cat when he pulled out to take me home.

I was with the chap who split his chin in the ambulance, he’s doing ok too. Bit of a headache though I think.

Clubber , yes that was me. He must have asked me 50 times how his bike was…poor chap. I’m just going to check mine.

So, have I got this right – some people expect slower people in front of them to actually move out of their way to let them through? Really?

So, have I got this right – some people expect slower people in front of them to actually move out of their way to let them through? Really?

to a point yes, if you are slow and a faster rider from a different category comes up behind you courtesy is not to block, but it is also for the faster rider to get past safely!!!!!

Mrmo….Seriously!!!??!?? If there’s no room WAIT!!!! If there’s room then overtake. Riding solo is hard enough but do you expect us to ride off line all the time to let quicker riders through? With the amount of traffic at Bikefest then the solo riders or ‘slow riders’ as you call them would never ride on the race line. Not good sportsmanship at all…

Quite. Are slower riders expected to keep looking behind them to see if the rider approaching them is in a different category!?