I just kind of bounced down stage 1 and just about managed to stay on the bike . It was the bottom of 3 i made a right mess of , it was really hard to get going again once you stalled . I must admit to being a bit of a regular on red trail center routes so these were a bit above my level but I loved the whole weekend and will be back next year .
I also have a total respect for those who did the EWS , with practice and 2 days of racing that must of been really tough
On things like the top of stage 1 it's just thinking about where you need to brake and where it's unnecessary and just comfort braking. So for lots of it, you could let off a bit on the straights, but then brake really hard for the switchbacks.
It was the bottom of stage 1 that I was having more problems with. I'm on 750mm bars and I clipped 3 different trees with my bar ends caps. I don't posses Joe Barnes' ninja skills.
Stage one it awesome. Loved it. Loved it last year too. It's the second section of Stage 1 that I love the most. Mucho fun!
I didn't race it that is why I asks, I rode yesterday, the top was a little bit of a shock to the system, by the time I got to that great bottom section, I was in the groove a little more.
Was this year's Stage 1 last year's stage 4?
Yep.
I really didn't think stage 1 was very technical, but I've done a lot of that type of riding this year. Got down just outside 5 mins and thoroughly enjoyed it. Lost time at a few places but can't worry about that. It was nice flowy fun riding. Every steep section had a grip point right after it so all you have to do is look as far ahead as you can, relax and brake less.
I also have a total respect for those who did the EWS , with practice and 2 days of racing that must of been really tough
I did 15 miles of practice and 20 miles of racing on the Sunday and I was way more burst than after 100 miles in 4 days of practice and racing at the EWS. The time limits on the Sunday were the tightest I've experienced. We had virtually no rests other than the queues at each stage and we were still at the time limit. 4,200ft of climbing in ~10 miles was horrific.
I did 15 miles of practice and 20 miles of racing on the Sunday and I was way more burst than after 100 miles in 4 days of practice and racing at the EWS. The time limits on the Sunday were the tightest I've experienced. We had virtually no rests other than the queues at each stage and we were still at the time limit. 4,200ft of climbing in ~10 miles was horrific.
Ive been feeling pretty burst since the weekend, only starting feel normal again 😕
Was I the only one that thought the EWS time limits were fairly relaxed then?
Really fancy doing the Scottish round of the EWS in 2015 but I'm worried it might be beyond my capabilities both in terms of technicality and fitness. To date the longest Enduro races I've done have been last year's King of the Hill and this year's 'Ard Rock, I really enjoyed both those events. How do they compare with the EWS?
@Simon
I did the EWS and K/QOTM. I couldn't get the time off work to do all the EWS practise days, so only rode Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The extra practise days would have really helped! In terms of fitness, I found the EWS (E2 category) was really relaxed on cut-off times. The days were long but I stopped both days for a leisurely lunch and was definitely treating it as a social event. I never struggled to make start/finish times. By contrast I felt a bit pushed for time in KOTM. In the end I finished with a good margin to spare but that was with just a few short breaks.
The big challenge of the EWS was the technicality of the stages. In my opinion there was nothing in KOTM that came close to the difficulty of the EWS stages at the golf course. I had no problems last weekend (apart from a great tumble over the stage 2 drop which I'd cleaned with ease the day before) but I don't mind admitting I really struggled on the EWS. Having said that, I can't wait to do both events again next year!
Cheers, that kind of confirms what other people have told me about the EWS 🙂
Think I could deal with the distance and riding 3 or 4 days in a row it's the steepness and technicality of the stages that worry me!
