Because of that incident I didnt actually do another MTB race till the Gorrick Brass monkeys winter enduro last winter!!!

1990 ish as a junior in an XC/Cyclocross race on Ealing Comon or the general Ealing area somewhere.

The first ‘Hit the North’ a couple of years ago:

Saw a leaflet in my LBS and was immediately sold on the idea because the course was just round the corner from Ms Spanner’s house, on trails we’d been riding for ages.

Went on a couple of the preview rides and everybody seemed very friendly. The enthusiasm and encouragement provided by the organisers was really inspiring, so I entered.

Blazing Saddles in Hebden lent me some lights and I got stuck in. Can honestly say I’ve never, ever enjoyed myself so much on a bike 🙂

I love the longer format, because someone’s bound to drop out, meaning I might not be last! I love it when it rains and the course ends up like Paschendale for exactly the same reason. 😀
But most of all, I love the atmosphere, meeting loads of other like minded idiots and of course and tying to find the energy to drink beer and dance like an idiot afterwards.

If all races were like that I’d be out every weekend.

Mine was a local CX race run by a now-defunct organisation called Valhalla Wheelers and it was on some playing fields/parkland out near Heathrow. In January.

I was 16, I’d had my MTB about 4 months and just joined a local cycling club so one of the guys took me out there and I raced in tracksuit trousers and a thick fleece cos it was **** freezing. Most others were on proper CX bikes in lycra. I was second from last and when I finished I weighed about 2 tons what with the amount of cold wet mud that covered me!

Anyway something obviously appealed cos I went on to do all the Beastway races, most of the Whipstakes Farm ones right from the first event til they closed it down and a few XC races at Penshurst (before it was properly renowned as a DH venue).

’94 or ’95 at Wharnecliffe. Entered the “fun” category on my fully rigid steel hardtail. Gave up after 1 lap. Was no fun at all.

One of the Rother Valley Series in 91. Steve peat won the Junior Cat (x-country)I was in!

Hey samuri, did you do that road race on the Chapel en le Frith bypass when it was built/opened in 1987, happy days

Yep, I struggled though having recently becoming committed to a lifestyle that included copious amounts of booze and fast women. I think that was probably my last or one of my last races until I started riding seriously again in the 90’s.

Mine was the first SITS in 2001

I rode the 15 miles there,

15 miles! you were lucky.
When I were a lad I had to get up before I went to bed. Try and eat steak and rice next morning. Get on the tube wit bike, travel to a BR station and out of London to Leighton Buzzard. Ride bloomin miles t’race, finish race and go back home the same way.
Kids of today don’t know they’re born, with hippy parents driving them every where.

simondbarnes, was that taken at the top of very loose gravel descent that spat you out onto a tight right hand tarmac bend?
An area I think referred to as the quarry

No, it was a ‘bombhole’ near the campsite iirc. I’m amazed I got through it alive with 70mm forks, v-brakes and no body armour 😉

Yep, I struggled though having recently becoming committed to a lifestyle that included copious amounts of booze and fast women. I think that was probably my last or one of my last races until I started riding seriously again in the 90’s.

😆 It was well before the booze took over for me, still all innocent etc, I did the schoolboy event and won, but then again there was only about 5 entrants lol, after the 1st 20m dropped the others and did the whole road on my tod with a bugger headwind, happy days 8)

Ah the ‘Bombhole’ that got well bigged up, but I found the series of high speed bumps just after that worst. They looked so innocent – did I mention I broke my ribs there that year 🙄

This coming Sunday at Blenheim – ‘don’t panic Mr Mainwaring’!

My first ‘race’ was a triathlon when I was at college.. won my age group by about 5 minutes and came 24th out of 80.. that was 1994.. nothing else then til Mayhem in 2005 :o)

That was the year that it rained and rained and rained and rained (kind of like every year since I guess) I was already injured, unfit and using really really crap lights.. minced round a few laps, fell off a lot, cursed my bike, cursed myself, cursed the course, cursed the weather and then swore to be back the following year 🙂