Viewing 32 posts - 1 through 32 (of 32 total)
  • Should I start Enduro racing?
  • fr0sty125
    Free Member

    I’ve been thinking about doing some Enduro races for sometime now as I think it could be fun and a good challenge.

    The FoD mini enduro strikes me as good possible starting point.

    However I wonder about fitness.

    To give you an idea of where I am at these last 2 Saturdays I have been to the chase and done.

    Lap of the Monkey inlcuding Dog in about 1 hour 50 mins had a 30 min break done another 1 hour 50 min lap had a 30 min break before doing the dog in about 45 mins.

    Will this sort of fitness be adequate?

    Secondly what sort of skill level is required?

    lucien
    Full Member

    What could do wrong? There is only 1 way to answer your question(s)….

    kimbers
    Full Member

    at FOD there wont be anything too technical

    Ive never ridden cannock but im slow and podgy and i managed the UKGE series last year!

    Big-M
    Free Member

    only one way to find out….

    bombjack
    Free Member

    Do it, you’ll learn more about your riding in an afternoon racing than months out on the trails. I did my 1st enduro at FOD last weekend, I was shocked by the pace some of the guys were running. It wasn’t so much fitness, but technical skills and the ability to read the trail (the enduro 1 series are run blind to make it really bloody hard) I find technical trails fine when out on my own, but in a competitive situation it was another level. There was no problem with transition times, and I loved the pressure of racing, but I did come out of it knowing exactly what to improve (if not how…)

    xiphon
    Free Member

    Secondly what sort of skill level is required?

    Very difficult to quantify – but it’ll be a bit more demanding than mincing around a trail centre 😉

    mactheknife
    Full Member

    Go for it, riding at race pace can be pretty daunting the first time but its a hoot.

    yacoby
    Free Member

    I haven’t had a problem with fitness in transition stages. For example last summer I did the POC Enduro at GT without too much of a problem (20 minutes to spare) despite the practice the day before being my first time on a bike in the three months. Last climb almost killed me but almost everyone was pushing on that so meh.

    The bigger problem I had was fitness in longer(er) descents. It turns out that the style I ride was more geared towards all out for around 3 minutes followed by standing around. Riding all out for 8+ minutes killed me.

    michaelmcc
    Free Member

    Fitness is a very small part of enduro racing imo. Any old fart can get up the hills in the allowed time, although the top riders probably have a handy sprint on them to pedal large parts of the descents. Bike handling skills are way more important in enduro I think.

    Hob-Nob
    Free Member

    I’d disagree about the fitness, I think it’s borderline the most important thing. The transitions arn’t generally tight (they are if you have a mechanical) but being able to sprint solid for the stages is massively important if you want to be able to do well.

    The guys up the sharp end of the category can certainly ride, no doubt, but they are doing huge amounts of training and mileage to be able to do the sprints required.

    As for the original question – just do it, part of the fun is finding out 🙂

    chico66
    Free Member

    Why put so much pressure on yourself? Just treat it as a day out with your mates. Ride to the top, chat to whoever you’re standing next to and then ride down the other side

    I’m old, fat and slow and did the Perth City Enduro last year. Sure there were probably people sniggering behind my back but everyone I spoke to was really friendly, I didn’t come last, didn’t die and thoroughly enjoyed myself riding a trail I probably wouldn’t have normally got to ride

    ricky1
    Free Member

    If it’s your first race then just go and have fun and don’t take it to serious,I have my first race at the end of this month,I haven’t got a clue how I do but I’m going to have a laugh and maybe gauge how fit I am compared to others,if I finish in 50th place then next time I’ll just aim to finish in 49th place but like chico66 said don’t put so much pressure on yourself.

    MarkBrewer
    Free Member

    Any old fart can get up the hills in the allowed time

    I wouldn’t go that far! I did the mini enduro at Haldon the otherday and yes you had probably double the time needed between stages. But at the other end of the scale the Quantocks enduro last year was a tough route, really muddy, and had some big climbs so anyone unfit would probably have struggled to make some of the transition times.

    scottfitz
    Free Member

    Give it a go, Its good fun and fitness isn’t a big deal. As for skillz, you will see all levels.

    I have signed up in HT’s looking forward to it.

    patriotpro
    Free Member

    Fitness is a big deal if you want to achieve a ‘result’.

    Other than that just go for it and enjoy it would be my advice…Good luck

    mactheknife
    Full Member

    I just got a place on the Trans Savoie and to be honest i was bricking it, until a mate told me to chill. Forget the racing and enjoy the event for what it is. Wise words oh yoda 🙂

    peacefulparsnip
    Free Member

    I had similar thoughts before my first enduro. In hindsight I don’t know why I bothered worrying!
    You’ll never know whether you have the skill level required until you ride one, but the chances are you almost definitely will! The one at FoD has no transition times so fitness won’t be as much of an issue, which is great for a first race.
    Once you’ve done it you’ll know how you stack up against everyone else and how to improve!
    If you want to get competitive fitness is a massive factor, but it’s definitely a good idea to ride some downhill as well to get the bike handling skills.
    If you’re not confident, when registering, set your skill level to one of the lower ones so you won’t have to deal with the possibility of getting caught on stages.
    You won’t regret doing it!

    adsh
    Free Member

    Enter, do it and savour that feeling of terror/anticipation you can only get from doing something for the first time. There’s only so many things you can do for the first time and as you get older that excitement gets rarer and more precious.

    fr0sty125
    Free Member

    Thanks for all the thoughts guys.

    I’m very much leaning towards doing it. I think I will just try and get as much practice as possible and do more natural stuff. I went riding in the hope valley on Sunday which was my first natural riding since the summer and it was fantastic. Jacob’s ladder really woke me up compared to all the trail centre stuff I have been doing recently.

    The DH suggestion is a good one I have 3 good choices for DH practice Stile Cop at Cannock, Morely woods/Drum Hill and Shining Cliff.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Give it a crack, how bad can it be? I love these things, even though I’m bad at them.

    Biggest problem with enduro, is that you don’t necessarily know what you’re getting. Some are really pretty straightforward, others are as hard as balls. And even then mostly it’s the good sort of hard as balls but sometimes it’s the “succeed or it’s crap” sort. So that’s the big potential downside but in all honesty, it’s worth the risk.

    bigjim
    Full Member

    Do it, but make sure you book a place before they sell out, which I’ve failed to do twice so far this year…

    toys19
    Free Member

    Nope. You might fall off and break a bone and then place an unnecessary burden on the NHS through your own self inflicted condition.

    scottfitz
    Free Member

    Biggest problem with enduro, is that you don’t necessarily know what you’re getting. Some are really pretty straightforward, others are as hard as balls.

    Your right but I think mini enduro is a good place to start. From there website:
    So if you have never raced an Enduro before or just want a bit of fun racing Enduro away from the pressure of Uk Gravity Enduro series, perfect come and try a Mini Enduro.

    [Blatantplug] Also as some of you Know We (QECP Trail Collective) Have 2 enduro races this year 😉 [/Blatantplug]

    http://www.qecptrailcollective.co.uk/events/qecp-day-night-enduro-17th-may-2014/

    http://www.qecptrailcollective.co.uk/events/qecp-trail-collective-enduro-27th-july-2014/

    scruff
    Free Member

    Plenty of Stile Cop enduro training going on, down the red as fast as possible, then ride straight back up the fireroad, you’ll need a breather after that.

    toys19
    Free Member

    joking aside, enduro to me seems to be what MTB is all about. I for one do not particularly care who gets to the top first (mostly cos it is never me) but I do like to race down..

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Yeah, I think that’s the best bit and sometimes the worst criticism, people say “if it’s just like riding my bike, why would I paid money for it”.

    The answer is because it kicks ass!

    toys19
    Free Member

    I guess becasue someone has to organise the routes/timing etc, and prizes.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Oh yeah, I mean obviously it costs money- I think they’re generally great value. It’s more the “if it’s just like riding, I can do that any time” response. Which is fair enough but racing isn’t the same.

    BillOddie
    Full Member

    Depends…

    Do you have Enduro-specific Bike/Helemt/Jersey/Socks/Coffee…. 😉

    toys19
    Free Member

    In Aberdeen they do Race yer mates which is kinda unofficial enduro racing.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    So the timed sections are downhills, or a mix?

    scottfitz
    Free Member

    So the timed sections are downhills, or a mix?

    From the Mini Enduro website:
    The stages will be all gravity with no uphills, just blasting down some of the best off piste trails in FoD.

    Forest of Dean 27th April 2014

Viewing 32 posts - 1 through 32 (of 32 total)

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