Entered a ‘local’ (Friday Night Summer Series) race ‘for a laugh’ tonight. First CX race (done a few enduros) and wondering what to expect.

The series’ website blurb does try to make it all sound a bit for fun and inclusive – encouraging newbies on whatever type of MTB, but i imagine that most riders will be pretty serious.

What should I expect? I’m no racing snake (although would say I’m in the top 10% quickest riders in our club on a normal run), and will be riding my Rocket (don’t own an XC bike as such and my hardtail needs a service). I have no delusions of being remotely near the sharp end, but don’t want to be too lantern rouge…

Yeah, obviously you will die!

But not necessarily during the race – however you may feel like you’re going to for the first two laps… 😆

I did my first race since ages two weeks ago. I also entered it “for a laugh”, but when the adrenaline kicks in, it’s impossible to ride in the “pleasure mode”!

Don’t make the mistake I did, so you set yourself with a slow-looking group at the start. Go to the “pros”. When you start with the slow peeps it is very likely they will be blocking you for a good while… And the fast guys accelerate so fast they’ll leave you nice and open space to start the race! 8)

I’m up there tonight, racing in GV – I’ll be in bright orange ‘Cotswold Cycles’ kit and on a black Trek so please say hello.
The races are great fun and well run, with the emphasis on fun. My 14 year is also racing for the first time.
Good luck! Iain.

You won’t die.

But if you don’t feel like you’re about to, then you’re not riding fast enough.

You won’t die. But you’ll feel like that’s the easier option.

If you are fast ish expect to be riding around on your own, way behind the top riders but well infront of the weekend warriors. You probably won’t see anyone and then you’ll wonder what the point of it is and why are you going round in circles on what becomes essentially just a bike ride.

Well, that’s what happens to me anyway 🙂 Except for one memorable ride on a flat ish course where I battled some bloke all the way round for 10th. That was great. Except about 400m from the end I’d all but forgotten about him and was cruising home when he jumped me on the last corner.. bastard.

The series’ website blurb does try to make it all sound a bit for fun and inclusive

No such thing as a fun race! 😀

Ride like a nutter for the first 300m then settle back to the fastest pace you can hold. Don’t start slow and think you’ll catch up.

Colournoise, nice to meet you tonight and hope you got through the start okay, it was a bit hectic for a while! How did you get on in the race?

Well, I survived. Don’t think I’ll be troubling the results at all.

As a riding mate said at the end, with the Rocket I brought a bazooka to a knife fight! Was getting left for dead on the open grassy stuff, but caught up on that twisty stuff through the woods. Guessing loads of riders there were mainly road as I’ve rarely seen such a scary collection of bike handling skills and line choices as I did through that bit tonight!

Oddly, would have liked the race longer – didn’t really get warmed up until lap 4 and then it was nearly over.

Will deffo do some more, but will take the hardtail next time!

Nice to (briefly) meet another STWer.

Well, results are up! Finished a fairly respectable 10th and I hope you had as much fun as I did! Those wooded sections were awesome, and the rest just made for pure flat out racing. Looking forward to the next one now 🙂

Hang on… who’s the OP in this one 😉

Good effort, my one bit of advice from doing XC from a gravity starting point is learn how to be overtaken.

Is this the East/ South Midlands FNSS?
I did it a number of years, really enjoyed it then.
How many were there?
I stopped doing it through lack of time and bands on a Friday at my local pub.

edit -= just looked at the web site – it was a good turnout – 120+ on the night thorugh the classes.

I did one race.
At the gun everyone zoomed off. My initial reaction was “what’s the rush?”.
At that point I realised racing wasn’t my thing. I then pulled both calf muscles and was lapped by everyone.
A horrible experience . Thing is I was probably at my fittest and would always be first up a climb no matter which group I was riding with. To this day I have no idea why I was so rubbish.