Something like an extended version of the Lee Quarry races would work for me. Of course it would be carnage in the wee small hours of the morning, but that’s mountain biking for you. I’m sure it would create huge bottlenecks, but I’m not even going to think about that…

mumerous issues with Lee Quarry as a 24 hour race venue, the biggest one is the exposure, riders on the course may be OK but spectators could end up stepping into space in the dark

other NW venues are available…..

the key for me as expressed above is getting a course that will hold up under persistent rain, none of the 24hour events I’ve done or seen or heard about have managed that

other things like the toilets should go without saying (they spoiled an otherwise great SSUK09)

Newnham with pole dancers (not sharki), the perfect combination 😀

What are you planning/up to, Sharki?

I definitely think chicken runs around more technical section would be good for a couple of reasons.

1. Alternative lines keep things interesting on a course you might end up riding 20-30 times.

2. They would allow more technically minded riders an advantage on the descents. It always pisses me off royally to be stuck behind some lycra-clad ‘pro’on the singletrack who then drops me on the following climb.

3. They would allow novice riders to be able to participate and ride the course fully. My wife is really keen to try some racing but won’t because she’s intimidated by the idea of getting in people’s way and not being skilled enough to ride the course.

As for how technical, don’t forget it’s a XC race. 10′ doubles wouldn’t be appropriate, but a 2′ drop-off might be fun. Some steep chutes would be fun too.

Other than that, lots of singletrack and a variety in the climbs (fireroad grind, tech singletrack, short & steep, etc.)

p.s. the brighton big doggot referred to as on e of the top XC courses in the country last year by several mags. might be worth a bit of reasearch as to what makes a course good….

Instead of a pole dancer fixed in one spot get these riding round
Pole Riders

I’m thinking about a 6hr route switch which will put riders on a whole new course for a 6 hr duration, which will switch back to the former on the 12hr mark,

Now that really is a good idea 🙂

Hit the North was great in a really quite unpleasant way

We’re going to put that on the HTN2 t shirt.

Coed Llandegla would make an excellent 24hour location. Ian/Jim, what do you say?

*takes notes*

Nothing i really didn’t know already then, a few good points to take into consideration re fatigue, and the super steady pace of soloists.

Most of it will be out of my hand as far as organising goes, but i’ll try to have a say and would be great to get the ride through bar area.

I’ll be looking into the course design part of it, so was grabbing details before looking over the area for potential.

Would’t get too excited though, location viability and permission needs to be granted before any real planning takes place.

A big laser/smoke/lights/strobe son et lumiere type display in the woods at furthest point from campsite. Just turn it on about 3 am without telling anyone.

Change the course around by opening / closing alternative sections. Again, don’t tell anyone.

Camping next to course.

As fun as strobes, pole dancers, etc may be, the added expense will be passed on and seen in the entry fee…

People will want good VFM, but will struggle to justify spending excess on a little light entertainment en-route.

spoil sport

still think random changes to the course is a good idea

It would prove difficult to have too many random changes along the route over 24hrs, this could end up having varying distances and would prove hard to balance fairly.

That’s why the 6hrly route change would be slightly better, it’s easier to marshall and safer to do so.

If any course building can be done, could be possible to build a mutli track where a few tracks run parallel to each other, which will be a fun option for those who like a head to head speeder cycle chase through the trees, would be nice to have lane switching points to allow track changes but this may cause accidents so would be a doubtful design feature.

My object is to make something exciting as endurance riding can get at little tedious when the weathers not good, i’ve always tried to laugh my way through events whatever challenges are put before me, others can’t do this and little things need to be done to raise the spirts.

Things like the Gorilla suit man at MM 07 and the disco booth, the cheering girls on the logs on the climb out back at SITS 07, The cake ladys too at SITS 07(SARAH and Luke B), the DJ at 24/12 08.

course changes would be ace.
you could even work it (somehow) so half way through, you send them off down a little loop to get people off the course, and when they come back send them down the original course the other way around!
work out 2 seperate loops, and youve got 4 loops because you can swap them around a bit 🙂

HtN was great in an unpleasent way, cant wait for HtN2
ill bring a mud plugger this time (as it was ace at HtN1.5)#

entertainment en route would be cool too i think.
if there is a bit around a big field (which thier invariably is in my experience) then a band in the middle might be good, so can see/hear them for a longer period of time?)

As a soloist I say the more tech the better. I hate dull boring courses.

Daisy does that mean you’ll volunteer to run it?
It takes so much to organise these events and getting all groups to be on board is tough there would have to be an army of volunteers with someone to head them up. The adventure race we had over the weekend was superbly organised they spent 4months visiting all households on the route to make sure they had backing it was a case of they did their race bit and OnePlanet could concentrate on doing the other bit of providing an event venue with food, drink, race control/briefing areas and tech support.