So another spur of the moment decision has seen me enter this here

http://nofussevents.co.uk/event/Highland-Perthshire-Enduro/2956/

Not done many events before but this Enduro scene seems like a blast. Do you guys have any tips at all? From what ive read so far around 150mm travel front and rear is the norm, dropper post advised and wearing a lot of normal biking kit ie gloves and elbow and knee pads. Eye protection seems necessary though as well. So naturally the question is what else do i need to know from you lads who have maybe done a few of these?

Thanks for you help 😀

Look well ahead, not down. Relax and pin it towards the vanishing point!

Expect to be physically more tired than you’d expect.

I swear by goggles rather than glasses, but I get very watery eyes, so it’s a preference thing I guess.

Enjoy it!!

http://www.pjonline.com/news/analgesic_use_before_marathons_can_be_damaging

Ive seen a guy wearing goggles right enough and thought that looked a bit overkill but am i wrong in thinking that? i normally dont wear glasses as they get steamed up too easy and then covered in crap and you cant see anyway but the flip side of that is if you get something in your eye you cant see either 😕

i have a pair of snowboarding goggles sitting there i could take just in case

That’s a big ride as well as the timed stages, a little different from most UK enduros. I’m not doing this one, but my approach would have been steady- no practice on the timed stages and a lot of pedalling to do means that pinning it in descent 1 and 2 probably would lead to me hallucinating and cramping my way down stage 5 🙂

It depends how competitive you feel tbh- my enduro approach works well, for me, but it’s all about having a brilliant day out and coming in somewhere in the middle. If you actually fancy getting a good result, mine won’t work (but the racer’s approach would just spoil my day) I think riding bikes is too important to spoil by taking it seriously 😉

At the end of the day, it is just riding your bike, and more so than any other racing discipline- just like going for an XC ride that has occasional brilliant descents.

Goggles are a matter of taste, I don’t like ’em in an open face… Just doesn’t really feel right. But ymmv. Not all helmet/goggles combos work too well either. Certainly not required but some sort of eye protection is obviously a good idea especially as there’s bound to be mud (I don’t know the trails but I like a massive front mudguard for sloppy inners enduro and it worked well for kinlochleven trails-which-are-basically-rivers too)

Cheers lads. i think i’ll just wear the glasses and take along my goggles in my camelbak just in case. mudguard sounds like a plan as well. Not aiming to win it but ive been training a wee bit of late and would be a bit dissapointed if i came in last lol