who’s racing glenlivet then?
did the SES last year missed this round seemed quite tame, they have said there is new tracks any info in these?

It was a grand day out last year. A lot of mincers threw a strop because they had to pedal. Good scenery and fast tracks – not steep gnar but there is more to racing than that.

Can’t make it this year but sure it’ll be a good one. Go with an open mind.

yeah a few guys i know have thrown a strop wtf why are they taking it back there, but enduro is about being an all round good rider not just a dh sender lol, I’m looking forward to it

bloodsexmagik – Member

It was a grand day out last year. A lot of mincers threw a strop because they had to pedal. Good scenery and fast tracks – not steep gnar but there is more to racing than that.

Interesting, that’s not really what I heard folk left for. On they other hand; taking a stage down a footpath but not closing said path, taped so pporly that people missed turns, and having to transition for a hell of a long way to do pretty poor* stages were things that I heard.

*not poor because pedally, just poor because not very good

Yeah setting off from borders around lunchtime Saturday, in your opinions is there much needs pre ridden on the Saturday? Never been to Glenlivet before, suppose if they’ve changed it nobody’ll know 🙂

Not going this year. Absolutely gobsmacked that they’re going back tbh. I might have given it the benefit of the doubt even after a mess like last year’s but thing is, they didn’t seem to take on board any of the criticisms either. And a lot of it was the absolute basics- signage and marshalling. Wild horses couldn’t have dragged me round the loop 2 days in a row.

(no it’s not a “pedalling” thing, every SES round is physically hard- it’s a boring thing, riding trails I’d never bother to ride normally.)

I’ll be watching with interest mind, it could be all change.

Mmm… Now thinking this might be a waste of fuel 🙁

Not managing to make it this year but it wasn’t that bad.

It was a hell of a lot better than the first year the dunkeld enduro was run and look at what that’s like now.

It’s the closest SES to me by a long way this year, and none of the group I ride with are doing it.

The course last year was just dull, poorly planned and executed IMO – think Merida/CRC Marathon type stuff, except the signage was really poor, the maps inaccurate, meeting groups of walkers (legitimately) on the Speyside Way (Stage 3, I think), then dad having a (legitimate) ride on the red route with his son and daughter which was used for 4 and 5.

We all sacked it off after Saturday, and headed elsewhere.

Northwind – Member 
Not going this year.

^ Found the mincer.

Judging from the secret unreleased map I got a swatch of, they have quite a bit of new stuff. Seems like less of the open hill bashing than last year, and a better loop.

GavinB – Member
meeting groups of walkers (legitimately) on the Speyside Way (Stage 3, I think), then dad having a (legitimate) ride on the red route with his son and daughter which was used for 4 and 5

You realise on the practice days this is to be expected? Unless the organiser gets Section 11, the Land Reform legislation still applies, even on race day.

A lot of mincers threw a strop because they had to pedal.

Totally not the reason. Organisation wasn’t good, signs were missing on practice, riders were sent on the wrong road, marking consisted of some orange flags, which for anyone red/green colour blind was invisible.

Plus on race day, they forgot to tape or Marshall a couple of turns on two sections, so some of us went the wrong way.

And, the trails were still open to the public.

Oh. And the freshly cut trails fell apart on race day.

Oh. And the final stage was 50 seconds that they hadn’t bothered to even cut, they just put some markers through some furrowy grass, so you ended up at the café.

Plus, the stages were awful. Stage 2 was pointless. Pedalling on a flat grassy wall, to then ride 5 miles on the road to get back to where you started?

Yeah, but it was pedally.

Plus…. it actually came out as the most favourite stage of the 2015 SES in the PinkBike poll.

I’m hoping all the negative feedback will have been taken on board, and they’ll put on a good show. It’s good for the local economy, and there’s potential for an amazing round there. But please… no chuffing orange flags!

@dougal – I’m not sure what your point is. That I should expect to meet walkers and recreational riders on a stage, or that the organisers should have planned their stages better,, so as to avoid the conflict in the first place?

That I should expect to meet walkers and recreational riders on a stage

This.

Sounds like it will be better than last year- not that I was there but read quite a lot of neg. stuff about it.
Anyway a weekend away riding is what it is so will make the most of it. Think the weather might be a bit different by then though!

AFAIK, the only Scottish enduro race to ever get a Section 11 was Vallelujah 2016, where the area of Caidmuir used for the race was inaccessible to the public.

Every other race it is reasonable to expect other trails users.

I do agree that with some planning this can be minimized. I had no issues at Glenlivet, regarding other trail users or missing tape. Remembering which way to go is part of the game too IMO.

Dougal – Member
That I should expect to meet walkers and recreational riders on a stage
This

Surely a Marshall would advise members of the public / other trail users that it wouldn’t really be a good idea to head up the trail when there’s a stage crossing it or using some of it? Just common sense innit?

Surely a Marshall would advise members of the public

Very few, if any marshalls on an SES practice day

Aye, true that right enough. Does that mean non racers are quite entitled to spin round on practice day then? One of my mates was keen to do that once but thought he’d get rumbled and ejected from stages with no number showing.

BoardinBob – Member

Ok, so you don’t expect it. You meet a non-competitor. You collide with and injure them. Whose fault is that? Yours. Regardless of what waiver you have or haven’t signed as part of the event.

Expect it!

So if you’re a non racer going round on practice day with your racer mate, as above you collide with and injure a walker say- whose fault is that? Or is that knock for knock….

I think (not a lawyer), that regardless of the previously mentioned waver signing, that any collision would be treated the same was as it would be anywhere in Scotland. The fact that there is a race on is irrelevant to the access laws.

No trail user can reasonably expect exclusive use of a trail, unless a Section 11 is in force.

Riding round with a mate for a look-see: I don’t see any problem with this.

Glenlivet had a lot of trouble with trail user contention, which is pretty uncommon at a scottish enduro race. Section 11 is a total tangent; you don’t need a section 11 to warn other trail users of an event or to post trail closures; most events don’t use S11. The issue IMO was that Glenlivet wanted to eat their cake and have it; they wanted to have a race and the captive market that brings, without closing anything down for other visitors.

Just to prove the point; this time they’re closing the trails for the weekend. A good sign IMO, they’re obviously taking the event a bit more seriously and learning at least some of the lessons.

Just had a look at my Strava from last year. At the point we met the German tourists walking up stage 2 in the mist I was doing 28mph

But apparently I’m supposed to expect this 😆

I think you’ll find that’s why most knowledgeable enduro riders wear super-flouro shorts, tops, socks and matching bikes. It’s a safety thing really, as who knows what you might meet during a race.

next time we will see ordinary commuter riding in opposite direction perhaps 😀
anyway. Glenlivet best race of last year?!?!? WTF! no way. best round was tha last one at Innerleithen for sure.

I would really love to have extra 5-8 km on average every race ( basically 1 more stage) to make it more challenging.
45 km nae bother

Just had a look at my Strava from last year. At the point we met the German tourists walking up stage 2 in the mist I was doing 28mph

Must have been practice day as it was wall to wall sunshine on race day. It was something a bit different and enjoyable – they had issues but they didn’t stop me enjoying the weekend.

trauty – Member

anyway. Glenlivet best race of last year?!?!? WTF! no way. best round was tha last one at Innerleithen for sure.

TBH that was just FPTP in action- votes for good events were split across all the other rounds, votes for red routes and bad organisation all went to Glenlivet.

I don’t know the answer, but I’m LOLing at some of the nit-picking on here.

Apart from an email confirming they have willingly taken my money, i have had no other correspondence about the race this weekend.

So where do i register etc? Is it normal to have to guess?

You normally get competitor notes. Drop them an email, they’ll sort you out. There’s some good info on their facebook too. Registration is in the town square, just outside the Glen Avon hotel. There’s event parking in a field on the edge of town but I found it pretty easy to park near the square on practice day.

Quick preview of where to find what this weekend at Glenlivet.

Posted by POC Scottish Enduro Series on Tuesday, June 7, 2016

I’m looking forward to it. Raining now too. That should dampen down the dust 🙂

Well…. how’s it going at Glenlivet? Anyone got signal?

Was there for practice today. Still very pedally, and i missed one of the off trail centre sections on stage 5 as it wasn’t taped to make you turn onto it. Apparently the tape must have snapped, but there was none there whatsoever, so someone must have also tidied it up.

Seemed very quiet, i guess race day will be busier.

My car broke down on way back to Inverness, so going to miss raceday unfortunately

Stage 1 – Tight, twisting, loamy plummet. Almost no pedalling.
Stage 2 – 5+ minute pedally trail centre section. My worst stage by far in terms of results.
Stage 3 – Fast heather, dodgy bridge over fence, more fast heather, heather climb, more fast heather, short forestry road climb, 3+ minutes of descending similar to stage 1. An absolute hoot to race, scary fast up top, with the bottom being a struggle to keep a good position on the bike to go fast.
Stage 4 – Same as S3 last year.
Stage 5 – Same as S4 last year.
Stage 6 – Same as S6 last year.

Marshalls on practice, no riding down walkers paths, 1/3 of the heather bashing stages, trails signed as closed, mint weather. A definite improvement over last year.