New venue this Sunday. Anyone know what it’s like? Haven’t pre entered and can’t make my mind up wether to go or not. Not ridden my mountain bike since brass monkeys rd2 as my local trails are a bog. Looks very cold Sunday as well!

Had a spin around the area last weekend.

It was not a bog – the Gorrick guys and girls should be able do pull together something pretty cool.

Ah, best get ourselves sorted for the next one…
TBH I don’t think its going to be super cold (1-2C) but it is going to be damp…

I’m keen, but haven’t ridden much either for a couple of weeks. I’ve got some muds set up on my spare wheelset, but hopefully they won’t be needed.

I was going to enter on the day, still may, but the current forecast is putting me off 🙁 Yes, wus I know…

I was up there yesterday. While I didn’t find much of the course, I did find some of it and it was pretty dry considering.

I came across the guys digging a new feature and test rode it for them then went and followed that section of trail up to and including said feature. There wasn’t any standing water at all on that bit! It seems the fireroads are the worst affected bits. That said, as I left to carry on riding, the guys were walking along the fireroads blowing them.

I think X-kings (or similar) would be fine. I was on Mountain Kings yesterday

Rode some of it last week. Should be pretty dry. Cold tho’.

last central league cross race Sunday. So will try and enter the second/third. may even leave the cross wheels on the bike.

I’m in 🙂 Looking forward to it. Never done the Spring series before but will hopefully make them all.

I’ll be there – never really investigated Saddleback Hill before despite it being pretty close to other stuff I ride, looking forward to seeing some new trails 🙂

Reckon I’ll stick with Ron/Ralph front and back, expect my slow legs will outweigh any tyre choices anyway…

Anyone got a gpx of the course? I’m guessing most of it will be pretty obvious on the ground but some clues might be handy. Email’s in profile. Ta

I haven’t, but it was an excellent course, and apart from a couple of short fireroads, pretty much mud-free.

Pah – felt sick and didn’t go. Hope everyone had a good race today. Hopefully be there for round 2.

Rigid SS was a bad choice! Stacked it trying to gain a place. Gears and suspension next time for sure!

Lovely course though.

A fast flowy course wasn’t it. Nothing too technical either although one of the small drops nearly sent me over the bars when I didn’t give it enough respect.
Found some new guts today and managed 5th in Open 🙂

Punctured first lap of Vet plus, so re-registered for the Vet race that followed.

Rigid, singlespeed was a ‘mare for the first part of the course then fine for the second half. Swings and roundabouts. Managed 2nd place and enjoyed a good day on the bike in the end.

Frickin freezing after being in lycra for 5hrs!

Saw a picture they posted of one section that looked like flat zigzagging. A bit meh for me so I did the last Brass Monkeys course for a social spin instead (to be fair, I don’t race anyway). Really like that course and makes great use of the trail network already there rather without having to manufacture flat loops.

Saw a picture they posted of one section that looked like flat zigzagging. A bit meh for me so I did the last Brass Monkeys course for a social spin instead (to be fair, I don’t race anyway). Really like that course and makes great use of the trail network already there rather without having to manufacture flat loops.

I thought that too but actually, it was on a steep hill that we had to climb first so with HR still at 180 odd it was quite good fun.

[Quote]Saw a picture they posted of one section that looked like flat zigzagging.[/quote]

I saw that. I know the hill, I was briefly strava kom on it (until someone who knows how to ride a bike found out). I thought – bugger, that makes it look flat. It isn’t.

I really enjoyed the course. Bike was pretty clean after – a good indication oh how well drained and the good job done by the course setters. I too thought I was heading otb on that short drop but thankfully salvaged it!

My first vets race today- the old boys are pretty damn quick! One guy upset me though. I never heard a call so was plodding along in my own world only to get a sarcastic earful from Behind about not letting him through. Had I heard you first time, I’d have pulled to one side- no need for a buzz and sarcasm! Shame on you, rider in black with green detail!

Mccraque, you didn’t have to let him through – as the overtaker it’s his responsibility to pass you safely. If he had called and you decided to move over that’s fine but it’s not your job to dive out of the way.

Was my first Gorrick race, and was a great course, very similar to Cannock courses (but less muddy), and as I was much slower than usual it was quite nice to amble round rather than blast it – I did notice there wasn’t much calling for overtakes though. And I did get overtaken a fair bit!

I always feel a bit of a plonker calling when overtaking because I’m so slow! Seems like everyone I overtook bar one DNF-ed so perhaps I’m just bad luck. Had enough time to stop for a chat with a lad who’d broken his chain and had no spares, and to dust myself off after a head over heels incident on the fast section leading to the steeper switchbacked section.

Gears and suspension next time, no stacks, and hopefully a finish higher up in the standings too!

Awesome/scary to see that the boy wonder Dan Tullett took the expert win (he’s still a youth for god’s sake!).
Anyone know what happened to Phil Pearce though? From the looks of the lap times he was with Dan until the last lap then something happened?

I wish I’d raced now, would have been good fun with some strong lads in the experts. Lets hope round 2 is as competitive.

The spring series usually bring out some decent riders, more so than the autumn ones. Surprised there weren’t more actually, recent years have seen the expert field swelling quite a bit!

I got utterly trashed at the only one I did last year – moving from 1 hour of racing as a youth to 1:40, and trying to follow Sam Stean for the first lap, did not end well!

Great little series though, and they’re a nice shock to the system after the long slow winter races (unless you’ve been racing CX).

Massive turn-out in the older categories – 120 across the Veteran classes and another 50 Grand Vets!

Does worry me a bit that there won’t be such big fields in 20 years time – when I first raced Gorricks 15 years ago there would sometimes be 100+ in Fun and the same in Open, seems that those riders have kept racing as they’ve grown older, but not so many younger riders race any more.

Or don’t race XCO anyway.

That said, when I started racing Gorricks and other events, also 15 years ago, you’d regularly get <5 in Juvenile/Youth, so to get 16 in each as yesterday is a big leap forward. Likewise Expert, that’s grown from regularly only having 4-5 riders to often having 15-20.

I’m sure it’s cyclical, but in general I don’t think numbers are a worry particularly.

Yeah that’s true.

Although Expert probably benefited yesterday from people coming across from Masters Plus, now that BC have abolished Masters at national level. Vets Plus was still bigger than Expert, Masters Plus and Masters combined!

Anyone know if round 2 course at Crowthorne is much different to the autumn series course? Hoping to save myself a lap if it’s largely the same!

I would imagine it’ll use much of the same bits, just in a different order. Gorrick will probably throw some slightly new bits in too but yeah, I’d say it will be mostly the same