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See you on Sat - I'm getting way more excited than a grown man should 😳 ! Your gridded nice and near the front (start lists [url= https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/zuvvi/media/bc_files/mtb/20160402_British_Cycling_MTBXC_R1_Start_List.pdf ]HERE[/url]). I'm right at the back 😥 Really wish I'd bought a race license last year to have a better placing as I always seem to end up finishing about where I start. I was hoping having a few points from the first welsh round would help my gridding but hey ho.
Although i guess its safer being the one trying to do the mowing down rather than having over-frothing incompetants snorting behind you 😆
Having never been gridded before, I'm not sure whether the best tactic is to try and make up places in the intial sprint (and if thats even possible starting right at the back) or just hold ground and then make up places in subsequent laps as the race goes on.
I did open at the fforest fields one last year and really enjoyed there being a bit more of a buzz, mildly nervous about doing sport and the increased speed and frothing though.
I've been riding at Pembrey a bit over easter. Make sure you do a practise lap and have a look at the a-lines - one of them (far end) is very difficult to my technically deficient mind (theres a pic on my strava but it doesnt convey the steepness).
My goal is to get in the top 30 and get a point to try and help my gridding for the Fforest fields round - fingers crossed.
Make sure you do a practise lap and have a look at the a-lines - one of them (far end) is very difficult to my technically deficient mind (theres a pic on my strava but it doesnt convey the steepness).
It looks quite steep enough in the picture! I don't think I'll be having a go!
Same rules as cyclocross for the start: make up time if you can but don't go too far into the red.
It looks quite steep enough in the picture! I don't think I'll be having a go!
Glad I'm not the only one! I have a feeling (hope) that a reasonable proportion of sport wont be riding it. If the weathers good I'm going to head back on Sunday with a video camera to watch the Elites sail off it
How did you go David? I had an enjoyable but average race ended up five positions up from my gridding number which given it was a national I was happy with! Had an ok start, but then there was a crash in that first muddy bit I got caught behind. Made a few places in the wider bits of the first lap and then got in a bit of a train for the second lap and half the third till cramp struck due to a stupid semi-crash and I had to stop and stretch it out. By the time I'd recovered I rode the rest of the race alone.
Enjoyed the course. Hope all the a-line injuries from practise are ok.
Anyone else race Pembrey today? Good luck to everyone tomorrow.
Yeah went alright. Got a great start, about 8th into the first corner making the one everyone with more confidence in the mud was having to avoid as I tiptoed thru it. Couple of folk crashed in front of me in the first couple of minutes but got round them without too much bother. Slid backwards down the pecking order on lap 1 - was a bit too tentative in places on the drying course and wasn't really giving it everything on the pedally bits. Felt better as things went on though, and spent the last lap defending about a 10 second lead on a pair of guys trying to chase me down kept me honest.
Reckon I was about 20th but haven't seen the final results yet.
Bad luck with the cramp - sounds like you did OK still though.
Nice one, I've not got back into the race aggression yet so like you was a bit tentative. Thats the joy of the welsh cx league, racing every weekend you get used to the riding in very close proximity, need to get that back.
Went and watched the elites yesterday, crazy fast, though I was disappointed they had to modify the one aline for safety reasons. Got some footage, will link here when its on you-tube.
Guess with your wedding timescales you wont be at the showground race?
Coffee break viewing from Pembrey:
Well the London Beastway series starts tomorrow. after finishing 9th this is /was a target for me this year. It has the added fun of Regional A first and last races book ending the Reg c Wednesday night races.
Not really sure how to play it after recent heart palpitations and before the scheduled tests. Conservatively I guess.
Phew. A good day on a very challenging course needing 4 X bike clearance stops! So with no vo2max to call on, I managed 6th vet into the first corner sprint and finished 9th vet overall. Happy with that!
Bloody hard race at Cannock today at the Midlands XC. Damp course on the rutty muddy slide no-grip bits meant 5 laps was seriously hard work. Finished 13th Expert so happy enough with that.
Kryton - what heart arrhythmia have you got?
I'm diagnosed already with eptopic beats at rest but won't know what this is until I'm tested next week. Could just be a one off of course.
Here's a little vid from Beastway rd 1, including your's truly looking like puking at 8:30 (red shirt white helmet):
lol you look like you want to give up at that point.
The guy commentating = sound off
Are you racing Henham on Sun?
I've been having a mediocre time health wise lately and despite the video that section of the course was pretty much the only bit which wasn't claggy mud so hard going throughout. I was also chasing on the two guys in front as I'd dropped my chain half a lap ago, and they'd come past me. And its more uphill than it looks - thats snaking up beside a 12% road climb 🙂 Oh, and I always look like that 🙄 😳
Re Henham, nope. Its a 200m round trip for me so I tend to leave that one out as one of the 2 races I don't need to score with.
Looks like a cross race at the start with that off-camber turn!
Round 2 of the Welsh xc series today at Builth RWAS, great course and a nice sunny day for it. Very raceable course given the venue.
Had a really fun race and a really bad race at the same time. Was having a decent race against flattyre off here and had got a bit of a gap on him when I dropped my chain, by the time I'd got it back on he was a fair way away, managed to reel him back in, overtake and get another gap, when I dropped my chain again, he shot past me and it was back to chase mode. Unfortunately this time it was the last lap and I was pushing too hard to get back to him and crashed going over a rocky section.
So bad in that if my chain hadn't dropped twice I'd have beaten flattyre and he got me in round one, but also good in that dropping the chain twice meant it was a more exciting battle overall, otherwise I think we'd have both been riding round on our own for the later laps.
At least you enjoyed it, I hate getting stuck on my own neither going forwards or backwards.
Round 2 of MSG Henham was much better after the disaster of round one.
Was gridded 28th, was aiming for a top 10 finish, smashed it off the line was in 2nd by the end of lap one, suffered for it on lap 3 and dropped to 4th where I finished best result I've had and was great to race from the start to the finish trading places back and forth.
I hate getting stuck on my own neither going forwards or backwards.
Yeah I agree, why I really enjoyed the national at Pembrey, big enough field that for 3/4 of the race was in close proximity to other riders.
Looking forward to Plymouth assuming can get bike fixed OK!
Bike fixed, gridding is out and I'm gridded mid pack which is pleasing as being right at the back at Pembrey was a bit of a pain. Getting mildy excited and pretty nervous: too much talk last Sunday about how scary bits of Newnham are and how even the b-lines are hard
Anyone else racing on the w/e? And more importantly anyone raced last time and want to explain how scary some of the A-lines are? and what sort of time penalties the b-lines have?
Well, that was an education at Newnham yesterday, amazing course, well out of my league on the technical stakes but great fun, lots of line options even beyond the a/b lines. Brutal climbs too. Great Spectator support with loads of horns etc. and great atmosphere in the arena. Had a reasonable result given that I was mostly b-lining it which probably lost a minute and a half per lap. Didn't have the best race prep either, was so concerned about technicality I did a course walk before the course was open, then did a lap and 3/4 practise, then warmed up for 45 minutes and got to the start already knackered!
The only thing I found frustrating was the queues round the course on practise, I kind of think the first hour of practise should be reserved for people racing on the sat, as it was some a/b splits I had to b-line because there were such queues I couldn't get to try the a-line and looking at number plates most were Sunday racers.
Hope whoever was being put into an ambulance on a spinal board is ok.
Gorrick Kawasaki 100 on Sunday. First race of the season (illness,family, cancelled events etc), lots of training but no race head and feeling rather mojoless. MTFU required etc.
I'm doing the Gorrick 100 Sunday too. Quite looking forward to it having enjoyed the Spring series this year (vets cat) and fancied something a bit longer. I'm doing 4 laps - which my estimations suggest I'll manage around an hour a lap (using my avg speeds from the spring series and the 12.5km lap length) but who knows. Hoping my fueling strategy will leave me much better prepared than I was for the Brass Monkey in January.
Yep, I'm doing the 4-lap too. My first MTB [s]race[/s] ride since December. I'll be the one having a coronary 200m from the start, then hitting everything in the singletrack.
Gorrick was great today, lovely flowing course as usual. Well off the pace but happy given that I haven't raced for longer than an hour for quite a while! A lot of fun following the locals & trying to hang on!
Was in the Singular kit in the 4hr.
Was in the Singular kit in the 4hr
Passed you on the 3rd lap I think - you were riding just behind Lou Robinson (I was in black/yellow Beyond MTB ki). Great fun, nice to be on the MTB again! It's actually dusty too.
I did the 8 laps today and was surprised how good my legs felt, despite most of this year's riding being based on the turbo trainer, and no long rides for a few months. Ripped the sidewall on my rear tyre on the 2nd lap, which lost a bit of time, but apart from that all good. I thought it was about as good as mtb racing will get, sunshine but not too hot and dry singletrack, but not too dusty.
John, my wife (Lou) made a comment when we got home that someone in Singular kit had said she must be local as she knew the singletrack so well. I guess that was you.
Chapeau Jason, 8 laps of that would've been tough!
The time went really quick, it was a fun course to ride which helped a lot. Although I was counting down the short sharp climbs on the last lap.
8 laps and 15th - woohoo! Arms and body feeling it a bit now.
Had a lot of fun riding following and leapfrogging friendly groups and riders. A bit ragged at times as racecraft was rusty but I'll take results over style!
NJee - your massive sponsorship list means your results stick out rather!
It's actually dusty too
Yep, awesome levels of grip! Slinging the bike into the corners at all sort of speed - it almost didnt matter how fast you were going..
Managed 14th in the 2 hr male - not bad for a bloke with only half a quad tendon on his left leg & a 2 year layoff!
Jason/Nick - yup that was me, was a lot of fun following Lou; although that bloody last fire road did for me every lap - spinning like a loon & trying not to cramp 🙂
Looks like I finished just behind you Nick.
I'm still gaining experience racing, and I always feel I'm putting in good effort and toward the end my expectations start rising, but always face a reality check at the end. Yesterday at Gorrick was no exception, finished just outside top 50% on the 4 lap. Great day though, enjoyed the racing 🙂
Midlands XC round three at Harlow Woods today. Good event and an enjoyable course, well done to the Sherwood Pines mob. Proper hard work with the heat though.
Beginning to think I should have entered Sport this year. I seem to over take a bunch of the Sport cat who go off ahead of Open Male, but get comprehensively dropped by the rest of Open Male.
MSG at Thetford today. Boy was it hot - the car showed 28 degrees. My results won't be good, I forgot to turn my Garmin on, a bloke dithered in front of me at the start (I'm not gridded so already 20 places down). I took a first few places on the first lap then picked off more then on lap 3 I found my self in no mans land approx 1/2 a lap behind the leaders with no one in sight behind, passed a few sufferers on the way to the line.
Had a good ding with a CC Cambridge rider until he sliced a tyre on some Flint in front of me, very unfortunate for the bloke.
Knackered now, but not surprising as I woke up not wanting to bother and uncharacteristically had a few beers last night after a couple of weeks of food / booze related debauchery. 1 week to go and I'll have a kitchen back for sensible food prep!
Had a mare today at the Welsh round at fforest fields. Been dry for ages but torrential rain turned the course into an ice rink. The steep descents were unridable for my ability (I wasn't the only one) with no grip. Crashed on the first and ended up running down the descents. Because of that I basically lost interest and struggled to motive myself to the push on the hills. Ended up getting lapped and pulled with a lap to go. Really pissed off with myself, just wasn't mentally there. Feel like I'm fit enough to get a decent result but it's not coming together. A shame as I love the course in the dry and had it pegged as a race I could have done well at.
Well that was my first proper xc race. I only went in Fun category to see how it went. Like Ferrals I had set up for dry conditions only to find the course wet and very slippery. No grip from Racing Ralphs. Crashed on a sighting lap and now have a very good egg on my right leg. Decided at that point to run the descents in the race and carry the bike, good enough for CX, good enough for XC. Paced myself on the climbs and managed to pull a couple of places back on the final lap.
Will I do another one? Dunno. Western league summer cx starts next week so will crack on with that.
Anyway, nice to see you again Ferrals.
Good to see you too mate
Was hoping to concentrate on some long distance riding for the next 6 weeks but also to do Beastway to remain race sharp. Given the state of my legs yesterday through not resting from the Gorrick 100 I'm going to have to modify this as I had to watch the pack disappear into the sunset. If I'm not careful I will do less long distance and bimble around an XC course so slowly as not to get much benefit.
What do you ride at Beastway adsh? I might see you there next Wednesday.
Good question re what do you ride at Beastway...
I would love to come up and have a dabble. I am not in it to win it or anything like that but I do fancy giving it a go.
My possible bike choices are a 29er Enduro or a rigid mtb I have just built for gravel/adventure/touring.
I should be good to 650b+ that by then to soften it up... I am not young and have plenty of aches and pains i'd rather not make worse.
I meant what is he riding for recognition purposes. But to answer your question go with the rigid 650b+. It's not a technically challenging course, more leg busting & cardio really. Having said that, when the ground hardens it's a bit of a bettering on your back as the ground tends to dry to "horses hooves". I prefer 100mm Fs 29 due to that.
Ah... I see.
Thanks, i'll plus the rigid if I am going to make it, off to have a quick butchers at the website.
Torq orange Whyte 29C. Blue Rides on Air kit. Luckily I'm colour blind.
Midlands yesterday for me, great course but really hard work in the heat. There weren't any real opportunities to rest either!
National at Dalby is next for me. Does anyone know what the course might be like? Mildly concerned that it's going to be something horribly techy.