Both are my goals for this year, question is, in terms of technicality and effort required, how would each course compare to Cannock Chase or Sherwood Pines?

On fire path/singletrack/green lane mixed rides, I’m fine with 50km rides and should be ready for 100km by the summer, but at techy trail centres I’m much slower and top out at 20km! 😳 I’m no good at pacing on fun, fast trails though…

Ta,
Steve.

If you can ride everything at Cannock you’ll be fine at Kielder.

You’ll have to learn to pace yourself though as Kielder is either up or down, there are no flat bits. Head to the Peaks to get some hilly rides in and get yourself a heart rate monitor (and learn your zones) with audible warning to tell you when you’re going too hard.

Hill repeats!

The course at 24/12 is nice, not too tech, nice and fast in places. It does have one bugger of a hill though 🙂

Thanks,

Not worried about the tech in terms of being able to ride it, but if I can ride it for the duration of the event!

Think I need to just ride trail centres and steeper stuff more often. I’ve been plodding along green lanes and fire paths with the odd bit of single track and just getting the distance in. Find it a lot harder on proper single track where you need short sharp busts out of corners and over small steep rises though!

24/12 isn’t difficult – until your tired and its wet and dark. Then the slippery roots and mud at 2am make things really hard mentally and physically. The last couple of years its been easier and because its been dry you can just roll anything.

I’m not the “master of technical stuff” too… But I found the 24/12 course very enjoyable last year! If I only had my forks set up properly…

I loved the climbs. The Bombholes were fun after the second lap. Plenty of roots in the woods, but when dry they were nothing problematic. I would expect a bit different game even after the slightest rain though! LOL

Kryton57 – Member

24/12 isn’t difficult – until your tired and its wet and dark. Then the slippery roots and mud at 2am make things really hard mentally and physically. The last couple of years its been easier and because its been dry you can just roll anything.

This will be the important thing. In the dry, there is nothing ‘tricky’ about the 24/12 (can’t comment on the Kielder) – it’s just a really fun course to ride.
But if it rains, there are slippy sections, draggy grass sections and lots of draggy mud sections. It’s still a good course, but I don’t envy the solo people trudging round when it is wet.

I’m only doing the 12, so should survive whatever the weather… (famous last words!)