I stand corrected then Jason!

Yep 4 hours for me. That way I can get two laps and a break in between!

Looking like this could be a bit damp. Heavy rain forecast for Sunday now.

^ heads to next day tyres website for Beavers….

See you all there! 4hrs again.

I’ll be there as will the_ginger_one – 2 hour for me as I’m generally a wimp and don’t want to race for any longer!!

Think I’ll have a pop 2hr only, my first xc race since about 2000 in thetford where I vomited up last nights pizza after crossing the line, not sure I’ll fair much better tbh

Oh yeah my xc bike is rigid with ardents, will I die?

Nah, you’ll be good!

Kimbers – the way you say ‘i think I’ll have a pop’ makes me wonder if you know it’s pre-entry only?

Can’t make this one but will be there for Rd.2.

Don’t suppose anyone from milton keynes wants to car share to save on fuel costs?

yeah johnny I cheers for pointing it out id seen that still available tho im off there now

oops pre-entry closed

looks like ill be racing strava round swinley then

4hr vets for me, singlespeeding as usual.

If it’s the same course as Torq in your sleep from earlier in the year, the bouncy mattress climb is very odd, it is like riding on a mattress.

Nah it’s not, may still use the same spongey climb though. That was horrific.

Weather looks pretty nasty. How stupid an idea would be Ralph front and back be? Not sure I can be bothered to swap them over to beavers…

You’ll be fine. It’s just going to be a wet swamp so nothing will grip that much.

It’s not that claggy.

I don’t think there has ever been a proper wet race at Monley, so who knows how the course will hold up. As Gee says it won’t be craggy, so proper mud tyres won’t be needed. There are plenty of fire road sections that will hold up fine in the rain, and the singletracks drains well, so hopefully not too bad just a bit slippy.

It has rained in the past during 12hr races at Minley, and one year it was fairly waterlogged at the start, and I have just run normal tyres (probably Rons or Icons) and haven’t found the lack of grip an issue.

I’ve got mud x fitted at the moment and can’t be bothered to change. I have a set of beavers as well but unfortunately they don’t inflate tubeless on my “race” wheels.

Got a Maxxis Beaver for sale if anyone wants it. Only used once. 2.0 wire bead 26″. Live a couple of miles from Minley. £10 (excuse my shameless sales ploy :-))

Yup , up for a 2hr SS Bimble !

I’m only available for the Jan 4th event, which will be my first outing in the SOG (Senile Old Git 50+) category. Singlespeedly as usual. Junior Balanced will be doing his first 2hr race in the 14-17s.

Just back from a ride round there. Some old faves, some new bits. Mattress climb is in but I think as a descent, whereas spongebob is now the climb. Or I may have been having my leg pulled. Course is all very rideable, few newish loam bits will be sapping after 4 hours but mud isn’t an issue. The only trouble I had was on ss on the field edge climbs, which are a bit geasy and when you stand up the back wheel slips out a bit.

Of course weather tomorrow is shit so all the above is likely to be irrelevant…….

Thanks for the course update, I’m about to set sail for the south and my bed for the night, didn’t fancy a 3 1/2 hour drive and the m25 in the morning. See you all tomorrow, I’m the lost sheep in the Arrows Cycles team strip aboard a Pace RC129 singlespeed.

Rode the course with TheOtherJonV earlier and its a good mix compared to the old 12:12 laps

The course descends on ‘Spongbob up’ and climbs on a track just parallel to ‘Sponge Bob Down’

There are some real nice new sections and not that many rest sections – so it could be a slog tomorrow – but all good run 🙂

Will be on a white fat bike so please holler ‘Fatty’ when coming up behind me and i’ll jump out of your way 🙂

Good luck all, it’s chucking it down at the moment

Well that was, erm, fun. Did 3 laps in the 2 hour race. So glad I didn’t sign up for the 4 hour one. I think that’s the wettest gorrick race I’ve ever done.

It was hard, very muddy indeed. I remember replaying theotherjonv’s quote from above in my mind;“…but mud isn’t an issue.” as i slithered to a mud induced halt on a number of occassions. 😆

I should have done the 3hr, as my 2 laps took that long! I got cold, wet and stupidly muddy, i think i might well have been dead last in vet40 2hr! I had a blast, really enjoyed the challenge and cant wait for the next time. I just need to work on my fitness……and bike handling skills……and 🙂

First race and first win for the Pivot LES today at the Gorrick 4hr Brass Monkey race. Felt terrible at the start; partly due to wrong bike position (like I said, first race), partly because I did my waterproof shorts up too tightly and cut off the blood to my legs but mainly, if I’m honest, because things I enjoy more than riding around in rain and sloggy mud include setting fire to myself. It really was a mission. After 2 laps I had a little rest, got changed, adjusted the bike and decided to MTFU. I caught back up to Rich and got the win 🙂 Good to have a Pivot 1-2-3 as well as Paul Flynn ended up 3rd.

Good effort Gee. I sacked it off after 2 laps. Had a broken spoke, had grabbed an old pair of shoes with totally shagged cleats which just wouldn’t stay clipped in and I was getting cold as I couldn’t pedal hard enough due to the first two issues!

The wet parts of the course were good I thought, really struggled with the muddier bits in the middle though. Would’ve liked a bit more grip on the little short sharp climbs too. Still, all excuses, should’ve MTFU’d. Glad I went, but don’t feel bad for giving up!

Well I can confirm racing Ralph’s was a dumb idea. Had a sense of humour failure part way through lap 3. Apologies to anyone in earshot of the swearing….drive kept chain sucking for the last hour so had to gentle take the bike round. Think I’ve also got through a pair of pads too.

I enjoyed myself and well done to the organises for adjusting the course slightly to avoid the worst bits. I also got a free mug!

That was pretty epic! I aired my Rons down to 20psi and managed every climb at least once. Nice to meet John on the Fatty machine. I loved it when you hopped off and said “Time to air down to 8psi!” 😀

I was about half a lap short of pace I reckon but otherwise was pleased with my ride. Finished in the top half (just!).

Nice to see you’ve solved your punctures Yak, sorry I couldn’t chat too well, I was only wearing a towel at the time lol!!!

Just finished the massive clean up operation 😉

Race report now up at

http://www.xcracer.com/having-a-little-word-with-yourself.html

GB

Haha, no worries! 4 and a bit hrs of mudmageddon! Didn’t feel fast today, just churned it out for the duration and came in a few places back on Crosshair. No torn sidewalls either 🙂

A serious well done to Gee and all the fast guys today too- the speed differential was incredible.

What bike were you on crosshair?

I think I sort of enjoyed it? I managed 4 laps, I did have time to go out for a 5th, but my rear pads were down to the metal, and if I stopped to sort them I wouldn’t have crossed the line before the 4 hrs where up, so an easy decision really. Bike washed down and it now doesn’t look too bad, hopefully it is just the front and rear pads that need replacing.

Glad I switched my tyres to Ground Controls before the race, generally I didn’t find grip a problem, but did have a couple of offs in the filth. Managed a huge muddy slide down the section with off camber corners, I lost the front wheel, hit the ground and just keep sliding!

Appreciate the fact that the organisers re-routed parts of the course as the race went on. Lots of events would have just left the course as it was, but the removing the worst bits actually made the later laps bearable.

Thanks to Gaz of KTM who sacrificed his race by lending my wife his bike after she ripped a tyre while leading the ladies 2 hour race. She wasn’t quite able to maintain her lead on the big bouncy bike, but she is very grateful.

Well done those 4 hours finishers battling in the mud!

I missed a great opportunity to be on podium.

I thought I had a boom proof bike for today’s conditions. A titanium, single speed and rigid carbon forks, all together under 9kg and I was feeling great, despite riding just with front brake only, very tricky on the downs!

At the beginning of 3rd lap the rear maxle started to loosen several times, chain tension was bad, the adjusters had moved forward a little bit and when putting torque chain would skip some teeth. I had a tool to tighten it at the feeding station but at mid point or so it snapped. I run to the end, asked for a single speed chain link, I was offered to try with a 9 speed chain but I was demoralized, wet and cold. I reckon I could’ve tried to do 2 more laps but that’d have been nearly 5 hours.

I have to find out what really happened. Need to tighten bolts a little bit more probably hehe

I ground out 3 laps today… And spent even longer cleaning my kit and bike after. The wettest gorrick I’ve ever ridden.

Great course though!

Scott Spark 920 with a red coat.