Who’s going to be there?

I’ve not booked on, but was thinking about the 3 stage Sunday only. I’m not sure how gnar it is though; I’m crap at riding techy sections that I don’t know.

I’m definitely out as I still cannot ride after my knee injury at the last event.

I’m crap at riding techy sections that I don’t know

Me too 🙂 I’m doing the 5 stages, going up Saturday afternoon for a practice session.

I’m definitely out as I still cannot ride after my knee injury at the last event.

Your grazed knee? 😉

rode what is assumed to be part of stage 3 last weekend, its pretty blummin ace!!

tomhoward – Member
I’m definitely out as I still cannot ride after my knee injury at the last event.
Your grazed knee?

Yeah, it hurts! I tried one ride but I had to give up part way through and some days it has been very difficult to walk on. This injury has definitely been more painful than when I broke my wrist back in May.

I’ll be there, just hope the weathers good.

i will be there. hoping the weather forecast is going to change

Forecast is still rain for Saturday 🙄
Anyone got any info on the stages? Just wondering what to expect.

I asked on Twitter and got told

@PennineMBA: @mcnultycop 1st and last in Lee the 2nd is somewhere secret and 50% wooded. Not cragg. All very gravity fed but need to pedal at times too.

And

@PennineMBA: @mcnultycop all features will be rollerable but more technical than the normal red/black stuff at Lee but nothing daft you should be fine.

They are gonna be wet and slippy & you love that stuff! I, on the other hand do not..

Yes I’ll be doing the Sunday service,don’t really like lee quarry so I’m hoping they can show me something that will change my mind about the place.

Rollerable but technical sounds good. I think 🙂

Their spelling, not mine!

So how did practice go for everyone?

I turned up at lunchtime, got wet and muddy, scared myself a couple of times but had a fun day.

Yeah went ok, hell of a transition from stage 2 to 3&4 at cockhill but well worth it 😀 Thought the stages at Lee quarry were a bit sketchy. That rain last night seemed to make the first half inch of the trail muddy but it was still bone dry underneath. Forecast is dry for tommorow so should make for a good day 🙂

hell of a transition from stage 2 to 3&4

We rode back to Lee Quarry after stage 2 and drove up to the back way in to Cock Hill to save our legs for tomorrow!

Awesome day, the stages were probably the best of the series and I can’t believe it wasn’t as packed as the other races.

Looking forward to next years.

Yeah, shame the turn out was poor. It was a good overall distance with some challenging sections on the times stages.

The chute of death was amazing 🙂 never cleared it in 4 attempts.[*]

Lots of riders were having problems with that chute either crashing or stopping and walking/sliding down.
I rode it once in practice and again in the race. I was scared both times but managed to ride it out!

Yeah it was tricky, I got a cheer for using my head as a brake 🙂

Sounds painful 🙂

Not at all, was fun and even though I still hadn’t cleared it I got further than the other 3 attempts 🙂

Great day (in fact a great series) loved the heckling down the chute at the end of stage 5 , it was like the Roman gladiatorial games with the crowd baying for blood 😈 😆 Ended up finishing 9th in vets (including two offs on stage 4) on the 5stage version so happy with that. Hope the bloke who crashed on stage 3 and had his brake lever impaled into his leg is ok.

I’ve heard about 1 finger braking but not sure 1 leg braking is as good.

I’ve only ever done one Enduro before (Gisburn) so I’m no expert but today felt like a proper do!

Lots of it put me outside my comfort zone but goddamn I enjoyed myself. I made a slightly better of job of the chute in practise…

Now the dust (or mud) has settled, my thoughts, for what they is worth, on my Enduro career..

1. A summer of bone dry trails was no preparation for wet, slippy, off camber trails.
2. I need to practice wet, slippy, off camber trails, shouldn’t be a problem soon…
3. Sadly, I do not see what racers see. True racers see the trail in dots that they need to join up. I just follow blindly where it leads!
4. One run down each section on a shitty day only told me which sections I needed to watch out for. Sadly, the thought of these sections did nothing for my bravery, particularly seen as I couldn’t remember where they were.
5. I need a new bike*

*not true, I could have been riding Fabien’s bike and it wouldn’t have helped.

But you enjoyed it mugaboo and that’s what matters

philfive – Member
But you enjoyed it mugaboo and that’s what matters

+ 1
As for the fast guys it’s like the matrix it all happens in slow motion and they see the trail in binary numbers 🙂
Joking aside today I went round with a couple of lads who got on the podium in their respective categories and what impressed me the most was their ability to remember fast lines from practice yesterday. Several times I forgot where I was going in sections and messed up. My memory is shot, must of been all those funny smelling cigarettes I had when I was younger 😳 Oh and they were on 27.5 wheels, I was on 26, so that’s at least 10secs a stage 😉

That’s my problem it takes me ages to learn new trails, one run down isn’t enough.

Jason, just remember most 40 odd year old blokes couldn’t manage a 20 mile mtb ride let alone ride the timed stages without going home in an ambulance. I thought we did alright 🙂

Amazing day, although I was surprised how quiet it was. Cracking stages, and I managed to finish 3rd in my category (3 stage masters) and 4th overall (3 stages) 😀

I’m not complaining or disappointed, I had a cracking day, in bright sunshine riding great trails with great people. At the bottom of the Cock Hill stages I wanted to ride them again!

It just shows the difference between how confident you feel, depending on whether you know what’s coming up or not.

Other things that stood out were, how friendly this sport is, how well run the day was while still feeling fun and informal & how fast are the fast boys

I had the pleasure of Simon and Mugboo’s company all weekend and it was great. The Cock Hill stuff I could ride over and over and over – loved it. And stage 2 was excellent. The Lee Quarry stuff I can’t seem to get too excited about as its all a bit samey (apart from the chute of death which I decided for my race run would be quicker/safer going down on my arse).

But from the two races I’ve done this year (Grizedale and this weekend) I’m aiming for a full series next year with the ambition of just not coming last and enjoying myself.

To all involved with this years series, thank you. I’ll be seeing you next year (maybe on some faster yellow wheels and brighter clothes!).

Oh, and did we get lucky with the weather or what?!?!? Pitch black and absolutely belting down at the minute in Bradford. I’d have sacked yesterday off if the weather had been like this!